A MAJOR litter crisis is threatening Northside neighbourhoods with thousands of refuse bags illegally dumped every week and bonfires lit in housing estates to burn rubbish.
Photos taken last week in Balcurris, Ballymun, show burnt debris and locals say they have to call Dublin City Council on a regular basis to take away dumped rubbish.
Council workers are being kept busy in Finglas too, with black bin bags full of rubbish being thrown on waste ground in the area.
Local Fianna Fail representative, David Costello, claims that based on figures from a local area committee meeting held late last year, there has been a 360 per cent increase in the cost of dealing with illegal dumping since 2010 in the Finglas and Ballymun areas.
Mr Costello says things have since taken a turn for the worse with illegal dumpers now using bonfires to cover their tracks.
“It’s hard to believe that people will light fires in public places to dispose of their rubbish,
? he said.
“It’s even harder to believe that they will do it on their neighbours’ doorsteps. These fires are being lit at night and attract all kinds of anti-social behaviour in the area.
?
Mr Costello said litter
‘hot-spots’ were also emerging in Finglas and he pointed to vacant maisonettes on the Finglaswood Road, which has been the scene of illegal dumping recently.
“Dublin City Council was made aware of the problem in this area and organised a clean up, but the problem then spread to the other end of Finglaswood Road, between Mellows Road and Kildonon Drive,
? he said.
“Dumping was concentrated in the laneway behind and in the gardens of vacant Dublin City Council maisoÂnettes. I’ve spent my whole life in Finglas and I don’t ever recall such high levels of illegal dumping and littering. It’s hard to believe that people are just dumping rubbish in their neighbours’ gardens.
?
Illegal dumping is now escalating throughout several Northside areas and radical measures are being considered to deal with the issue. A local area council meeting last week for Dublin Central, which includes the litter-strewn North Inner City, discussed proposals to leave untagged rubbish bags on the streets in certain areas.
“Concerns were expressed in relation to the proposal to leave untagged rubbish bags on the streets or in areas deemed litter black spots in the North Inner City,
? a council spokesperson told Northside People.
“This issue will be the subject of another report to councillors at their area committee meeting in May.
?
Minister for Trade and Development, Joe Costello, who is also a local TD for Dublin Central, said he was totally opposed to leaving rubbish bags on city streets.
“While illegal dumping is a serious problem that urgently needs to be addressed, Dublin City Council’s proposal to simply let rubbish pile up is at best deeply misguided,
? he said.
“To leave large quantities of rubbish on the street is potentially a health hazard.
?
Cllr Mary Fitzpatrick (FF), who attended last week’s area committee meeting, said cleaning up dumped rubbish was now costing the council hundreds of thousands of euro.
She pointed the finger of blame at Labour and Fine Gael politicians for voting to privatise bin collections in Dublin.
“The decision was always going to end in disaster because there is no regulator for waste collections and the Government has failed to introduce a national bin waiver scheme,
? she said.
“Since privatising the bin service Dublin City Council spent more than e20 million in 2012 to collect rubbish, has written-off more than e2 million in bad debts and has bad debts in excess of e9 million.
?
Dublin City Council says it’s currently carrying out a survey to establish the exact number of bags and weight of waste being dumped around the city.
“Results will be made available as soon as the survey is complete,
? a spokesperson said.
“Removal and disposal costs will also be established when the survey results are known.
?
In the first three months of the year the council issued almost 400 litter fines in the Dublin Central area alone. Another 35 were issued in Dublin North West.
“Dumped bags will continue to be removed and examined by litter wardens,
? the council spokesperson continued.
“Where evidence is found that assists in identifying the offenders, litter fines will be issued and proceedings initiated in the event of non-payment.
?
New waste bye-laws are currently in the process of being adopted by the council. The bye-laws will place obligations on holders of waste to manage it in an environmentally friendly manner and breaches will result in the issue of on-the-spot fines.