Halloween amnesty declared a success by local authority

FINGAL County Council has declared its Halloween amnesty, which allowed householders dispose of combustible material for free, as an overwhelming success.

As part of its commitment to protecting the environment and its contribution to the Safer Halloween initiative, the local authority’s recycling centres in Swords and Coolmine in Dublin 15 accepted a range of material, such as mattresses, sofas and wooden doors, on four separate days in the build-up to October 31.

The response was overwhelming from the general public, with over 4,000 vehicles passing through the Estuary Centre. A total of 86 skips were filled, along with 40 cages of small electrical waste, a huge amount of large electrical items and 35 crates of paint.

In Coolmine, 2,645 vehicles visited which saw 79 skips filled during the four specified days of the amnesty.

Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Eoghan O’Brien, commended the local authority for the initiative.

“The Halloween amnesty was a massive success and was enthusiastically supported by the general public,” he said. “Along with the Festival of Fire initiative, Fingal County Council can be proud of the role it played in ensuring a safer Halloween for everyone.”

Director of Operations, David Storey, added: “This year we made the decision to offer the amnesty to reduce the amount of material which may otherwise be disposed of on bonfires locally with consequent health and safety risks and damage to public open spaces. We were delighted with the overwhelming positive reaction from the public.”

The council will now move to dispose of the waste, at an estimated cost of €45,000.