Dodder Action Day to take on river’s rubbish problem

THE fifth annual Dodder Action Day will take place on April 22 at various locations between Tallaght and the Quays – with special attention given to the situation of illegal dumping at Knocklyon.

The clean-up operation brings in hundreds of volunteers who spend two hours attempting to rid the river of litter.

The volunteer meet-up locations are at Milltown, Firhouse, Rathfarnham, Knocklyon and Donnybrook.

“Litter along the Dodder is a huge issue,” said Victoria White of the Dodder Action group.

“We have illegal dumping, fly tipping, casual littering and even industrial dumping that has included cars, bicycles, coaches, building materials and carpets dumped into the river.”

Ms White added that there is a problem of general waste and Dodder Action is trying all it can do to change that.

“There is clear evidence of illegal dumping occurring at Knocklyon,” she added.

“But the problem isn’t just litter – we have a lack of bins, a lack of segregated bins and quite a lot of dog waste along the Dodder too.”

According to Ms White, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council recognised the work of Dodder Action and provided bins along the stretch of the river in the local authority’s area.

Dodder Action has set up recycle and refund schemes similar to those in Germany and certain US states with local scouting groups taking part.

Ms White said this is possible as one third of the waste consists of recyclable items such as bottled cans and plastic bottles which are divided from the general waste. 

Ms White added that all the main political parties are supportive of the action day.

“At least one councillor from each of the parties is engaged and some of them are leaders in the work that we do”.

If members of the public want to join in and volunteer for Dodder Action Day, they can register on the website and engage with the Facebook page.