This article is from page 2 of the 2013-08-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
OFFICIALS at Clare County Council admit they are baffled as to how a heavy bin full of rubbish was dumped in the River Fergus in Ennis last week. The large wheelie bin was thrown into the river near Eason’s bookshop in Ennis town centre sometime between Monday and Tuesday. Black refuse sacks could be seen in the bin, which has drifted down river towards the Club Bridge.
The act of illegal dumping comes just days after Council workers and local community groups took advantage of low water levels to carry out a clean up of the Fergus.
The Council has contacted the company that provides the bin and asked them to make arrangements to have it removed from the water. A council spokesman said last week that a crane would be required to lift the bin from the riverbed.
“We’ve been in touch with the contractor but it’s going to be very difficult to get it out from its current location. You’d probably be looking at a crane to lift it. Its full of rubbish”, he explained.
The Council believes a group of people may have been responsible for hoisting the bin over a fence and into the river. The spokesman said, “Its one of the bigger bins so you’d need a lot of power to get it off the ground and into the river. Physically, you’d need a number of people to do it. We think that they might have wedged the bin up against the wall and forced it over.”
“To see it happen so soon after the clean up is really disappointing, especially at a time of the year when we are asking people to be responsible when it comes to getting rid of rubbish. It is very disappointing that this happened.”
Last month water levels in the River Fergus dropped to their lowest point since September 1995 following a prolonged spell of dry weather.
Community groups and local authority workers took advantage of the dramatic decrease in the water levels to clean litter from the river.
Ennis Town Council environmental staff assisted members of Fergus Salmon Anglers Association, Ennis Trout Anglers Association, Ennis Sub Aqua Club and Ennis Tidy Towns during last weekend’s cleanup.
Gerry Murphy, Environmental Warden, Ennis Town Council explained, “With water levels being so low, debris and litter on the river bed had become visible. Amongst the items collected during the cleanup were general litter items including plastic bottles, cans and wrappers. Amongst the more unusual items recovered were supermarket trolleys, traffic cones, footballs and even bicycles.”