This article is from page 29 of the 2007-06-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 29 JPG
DUMPERS who foist their rubbish on others and dump their bin bags in beauty spots will be getting a taste of their own medicine if a local coun- cillor gets his way.
After another weekend in which bags and bundles of litter were dumped by the roadside in Meelick, an angry Councillor Cathal Crowe has threatened to trace the culprits and dump the rubbish back on their doorsteps.
‘“Meelick was once again scourged with litter dumping last weekend. Bags of litter and several bundles of loose litter were dropped at roadsides
in the Knockroe and Cappantymore areas of Meelick,’ the councillor nee
“The dumping of litter in this lo- cality has become a very serious and disgusting problem. At least once a week I am in contact with Clare County Council’s environmental pa- trol wardens regarding dump sites in the south east Clare area,’ he said.
Cllr Crowe said that he wants peo- ple to fight back by taking numbers of the cars dumpers and reporting aetoeee
“I would urge people to be vigilant of any vehicles pulling trailers or pick-up trucks driving suspiciously in the locality,’ he said.
And the councillor said he would personally go one step further. “I re- call hearing a story some years ago about a farmer who found an address whilst rummaging through bags of domestic waste dumped on his land. He brought the bags to this address and dropped them right at the front door. I am extremely fed up with the extent of dumping 1n our locality and I may well consider taking a similar approach in the future.”
Cllr Crowe said that while the council’s staff are doing “Trojan work” to keep on top of the litter problem, the reality is that many of the people who dump are undeterred y litter fines.
“It might be time for some of them to get a taste of their own medicine,” he said.
The councillor had recently to call in the local authority’s environment department because of the number of cars being abandoned and burned out at the side of the road in Meelick and Parteen.
After contacting the local authority with a complaint that the cars were being left in situ for too long, he was told that the regulations require that a vehicle be left for a number of days to give the owner a chance to recover 1
Only after that can the cars be tak- en away, the councillor was told.