HOLIDAY homeowners are disposing of their rubbish at beaches in Kilkee and Lahinch.
Although the majority of these holidaymakers are leaving their rubbish beside public bins, they are still in violation of the Litter Act 1997.
Clare County Council’s Environment Section spokesperson Mary Skehan warned that people caught dumping their domestic rubbish on the beach, near or beside refuge bins, will be prosecuted.
“The record volume of people visiting our beaches has resulted in an increase in littering and the council has employed additional resources and installed extra bins to ensure the problem is minimized,” she said.
“However, some people are taking advantage of the situation by depositing domestic refuse at our bin collection points. Such dumping is unsightly and tarnishes the image of the locations in question and indeed, it is a breach of the Litter Act 1997 to depose of refuse in such a manner.”
Since the beginning of the warm spell of weather, the local authority has recorded a significant increase of domestic rubbish being placed alongside bins at popular seaside resorts.
“Holiday home owners and other householders are reminded that the onus is on them to dispose of their domestic waste at either of the Council’s West Clare Civic Amenity Site Recycling Centres at Lisdeen and Ballyduff beg or to avail of a private refuse collection service,” explained Ms Skehan.
Meanwhile, Clare County Council is also urging visitors to Clare’s main beaches to take responsibility for their rubbish by bringing it home with them.
“The council wishes to acknowledge those who have used the public bins to dispose of their litter. These bins are emptied regularly each day but often reach their capacity due to the unprecedented large volumes of visitors to the beaches. In Kilkee, we are finding that some people are dumping their litter along the seawall, on the beach or beside already full bins rather than bring their litter home with them. We have installed additional bins to counteract the problem but would continue to ask the public to take responsibility for their rubbish.”
Leaving or throwing litter in a public place is an offence that can be subject to an on-the-spot fine of € 150 or a maximum fine of € 3,000 if convicted of a litter offence in the District Court.