This article is from page 8 of the 2007-08-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
IN THE twelve months since the Environmental Protection Agen- cy (EPA) launched its “Dump the Dumpers” phone line, 32 calls have been registered from Clare with most of them related to fly-tipping, illegal landfill and illegal dumping.
Nationally, 2,184 calls had been received on the illegal dumping line to the end of July with EPA Envi- ronmental Enforcement Director Dara Lynott describing it as a valu- able mechanism for the public to re-
port illegal waste activities.
The “Dump the Dumpers” service was designed to encourage report- ing of illegal dumping of waste or of abandoned illegal dumps via a 24 hour call save telephone number – 1850 365 121. This information is followed up and checked by the enforcement authorities – local au- thorities, the EPA’s Office of En- vironmental Enforcement and the Gardai – through the Environmental Enforcement Network.
While information can be provid- ed anonymously, callers are encour-
aged to leave contact details so that clarification can be sought if nec- essary and so that feedback can be provided to the caller if requested.
This allows the enforcement au- thorities to gather information about illegal waste activity and to act on this information.
Sp.4 o.oo u lo Com UUMOlAmeeleNeuCocm Iles as England and Scotland suggests that a national phone-line for report- ing illegal waste activity is and will continue to be a central plank in the fight against illegal waste activity.
Serious incidents of illegal dump-
ing are reported immediately to the Gardai and the relevant local authority so that activities can be investigated as appropriate. These include, for example, the contents of a 40 foot trailer being dumped in a field or the dumping of diesel laun- dering waste.
This phone line complements and builds on existing local authority litter hotlines and offers the public a single point of contact to report in- formation about the more serious in- cidents of illegal dumping of waste, both past and present.