COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, July 11, 2011

HEADED ITEM NO. 14b)

DRAFT LITTER MANAGEMENT PLAN 2011-2014

REPLY:

Draft Litter Management Plan
South Dublin County Council
2011-2014

Litter Management Plan - Draft
South Dublin County Council
2011-2014

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
   • 1.1 South Dublin County Profile
     • Map of South Dublin County
   • 1.2 South Dublin County Council's Corporate Plan
   • 1.3 The County Strategy = A Place for People
2. Litter Legislation
   • 2.1 Responsibilities
     • Local Authority
     • Businesses
     • Public
3. Current Position
4. Aim & Objectives of Litter Management Plan
   • 4.1 Aim
   • 4.2 Objectives
5. Implementation Strategy
6. Conclusion

1. Introduction

1.1 South Dublin County Profile

The area of South Dublin covers 222.74 SQ kilometres, and lies about 10 miles south west of the Capital.  It is bounded by the Dublin mountains to the south and stretches from the River Liffey at Lucan through Palmerstown, Clondalkin, south to Newcastle, Rathcoole, Saggart. It includes Tallaght West, South and Central and stretches east to Templeogue and Rathfarnham.  (See map below).

• The population of the County is approximately 247,000 based on results of the 2006 census.
• The county has five electoral areas - Clondalkin, Lucan, Tallaght Central, Tallaght South and Terenure./Rathfarnham
• South Dublin County’s population is growing and currently stands at 246,935 (census 2006). This represents a 3.39% increase since the last census in 2002

Map of South Dublin County

1. 2 South Dublin County Council’s Corporate plan

The Corporate Plan outlines the mission statement, organisational values and strategic goals of the Council.

South Dublin County Council’s mission statement is as follows

To provide open, effective, inclusive and participative local democratic processes together with good  quality services and supports which sustain, improve and promote the social, environmental, cultural and economic fabric of South Dublin County for all who live, work and visit here.

The strategic goal under the Living Place theme states that all citizens will engage in the development of the living place with the objective of empowering communities to assist the Local Authority to create and maintain a high quality public realm which is attractive and safe. The Busy Place theme states that South Dublin County Council will promote an urban environment to enable economic growth with its objective to promote attractive places to work, shop and recreate.

1.3 The County Strategy – A Place for People

This is the vision for South Dublin County.

Within the section ‘a Place to Protect’ it states that ‘A county that promotes, enhances, develops and protects the natural environment contributing to greater awareness and appreciation of the value of a green county in the context of  social, economic and environmental sustainability. The Review of the Implementation Plan 2002-2012 has a strategic objective of minimising waste and increasing recycling levels.

2. Litter legislation

Section 10 of the Litter Pollution Acts 1997 as amended requires Local Authorities to make and implement a Litter Management Plan  

The Litter Pollution Act (1997) provides for the prevention and control of litter pollution. It defines the responsibilities of various sectors and individuals and details enforcement procedures and penalties.

2.1 Responsibilities

Local Authority

The local authority shall take all practicable measures to prevent, control and dispose of litter. Other responsibilities include the following,

Promote awareness of litter pollution and its effect.

Encourage participation of the public in preventing and overcoming litter pollution and in the collection and disposal of litter.

Provide facilities and arrange for regular emptying and cleaning.

Enforce the law and apply the penalties and legal sanctions

Businesses

An occupier of land and /or public place has a responsibility to keep the area litter free. Private land which is visible from a public place should be kept free of litter. In addition the area not exceeding 100m adjoining the premises should be kept free of litter.

There are additional responsibilities on persons owning, operating or in charge of mobile outlets and those who organise major events.  

No placement of unauthorised advertisements or public notices in public places.

No placement of advertising flyers on cars

Ensure that transporting material does not cause litter and that the material is secured.

Public

No person shall create litter in a public place or a place visible from a public place.

Dog faeces should be removed from a public place disposed of properly.

Waste material is not disposed except in a waste receptacle or bin or in an authorised waste facility

3. Current Position

Litter management unit

Decisions in relation to deploying staff resources to any area is made in the overall context where need & resources can be match based on analysis of data on a continuous basis

The Litter Management Unit consists of 6 litter wardens.

Their duties include the following

• Investigation and prosecution of illegal dumping
• The removal of derelict or abandoned cars
• The issue of on-the-spot fines for litter offences
• The prosecution of serious offences through the courts
• Investigation and prosecution of illegal casual traders
• Enforcement of Waste Byelaws

Cleansing unit

The Council is responsible for the maintenance of public spaces in the County and this is carried out by units of Environment staff. It includes

Major clean-up of public area’s

Provision and serving of litter bins

Graffiti removal

Street sweeping and general litter collection

Road Sweeping service

An extensive road sweeping contract exists, which includes street cleansing, weed control, gully emptying and leaf clearance on main roads, industrial estates, housing estates and dual carriageways and motorways.

Environmental awareness

The environmental awareness programme includes promotion of National Spring Clean, Beautiful South Dublin County Awards and other initiatives. .

Also the running of the Green schools programme and an anti litter schools competition.

Recycling facilities

Recycling facilities comprise of the Civic amenity site at Ballymount, and Bring banks across the County- recycling facilities for glass, plastic, cans and textiles.

Clondalkin Community Recycling

CCRI is a Community based scheme which arranges collection and recycling of WEEE – waste electrical, electronic equipment in the South Dublin County. This initiative is supported by CPLN, Pobal and South Dublin County Council.

4. Aim & Objectives of Litter Management Plan

4.1 Aim

The overall aim of the Litter Management Plan is to make South Dublin County a litter free County with the support, co-operation and involvement of the local authority, businesses, communities and individuals.

The following five cross cutting themes underpin the individual objectives of the Litter Management Plan:-

• Prevention
• Enforcement
• Awareness/Communications
• Partnership
• Cleansing

4.2 Objectives

1. Develop programmes on the basis of targeting the various litter categories, blackspots and illegal means of disposing of waste/refuse
2. Develop a customer focused litter complaints procedure in order to deal effectively and efficiently with complaints
3. Continue to actively enforce litter pollution and waste management legislation, bye laws and standards
4. Improve the litter disposal systems available to the public
5. Expand the recycling opportunities within the County.
6. Continue to monitor and review road cleansing service in order to provide an improved service.
7.  Develop a litter management programme for designated urban areas within the County – Tallaght city, Clondalkin town centre, Lucan town centre etc
8. Prepare litter management, education and awareness programmes that promote community and business involvement, community identity and responsibility, personal responsibility, youth activity etc.
9. Encourage active participation in Anti Litter Campaigns
10. Develop a communications programme to promote a litter free County – including the promotion of the use of www.southdublin.ie and www.dublinwaste.ie
11. Optimise the application of available technology in the enforcement and prevention of litter
12. Utilise systematic data analysis systems to monitor and plan Litter management and decision making
13. Continue to research and implement best practice models
14. Ensure the provision of a litter management plan for all major events.

5 Implementation Strategy

To implement the objectives of the South Dublin County Council Litter Management Plan the Council will work with all the departments in the Council to ensure the objectives of the Litter Management Plan are achieved.

This will provide a coordinated approach to litter management in the County.

The sections involved are the Litter Management Unit, Cleansing, Environmental awareness, recycling, waste management service and also include the Roads, Community & Parks and Housing Departments.

The Council will work in partnership with the community to achieve the objectives of the Plan and will commit to support communities in their efforts.

Objective	Actions	Theme
1.Develop programmes on the basis of targeting the various litter categories, blackspots and illegal means of disposing of waste/refuse	Develop a programme to deal with specific litter types - cigarette litter, packaging gum litter, graffiti, mobile outlet litter, fast food litter, dog fouling, posters/signage litter, end of life vehicles	E A/C C Pr
2. Develop a customer focused litter complaints procedure in order to deal effectively and efficiently with complaints	Promote the customer care system to highlight litter complaints. Promote the use of the EPA’s anti Dumping hotline 1850-365121	Pr
3. Continue to actively enforce litter pollution and waste management legislation, bye laws and standards	Implement a schedule of routine and non–routine inspections Continue to actively enforce the legislation with regard to litter pollution and waste management. Promote and enforce the waste bye-laws Promote and enforce appropriate regulations regarding signage Develop a programme of enforcement warning signs Publish litter enforcement statistics on a six monthly basis Prepare an operational plan for the litter management section with targets and standards of cleanliness incorporated. Prepare an annual programme to highlight the responsibilities of sectors under the Litter Pollution Act Continue to work towards publicising details of successful prosecutions and enforcement activities within current data protection legislation while at the same time endeavouring to secure some change in the legislation which will enable a Name and Shame Approach	E Pr A/C
4. Improve the litter disposal systems available to the public	Continue to research litter disposal system and prepare a programme to update existing units Instigate a continuous improvement programme. Identify pathways towards eliminating causes and adjusting litter bin locations Work with Transport service provider towards eliminating litter at their service areas Working with local businesses on the provision & servicing of bins	Pr, Pa, C
5. Expand the recycling opportunities within the County	Implement the recommendations of the Recycling strategy.	Pr A/C Pa
6. Continue to monitor and review road cleansing service in order to provide an improved service.	Monitor and review existing contract and produce a report to include measures to provide an improved service if required.	C, Pr
7. Develop a litter management programme for designated urban areas within the County – Tallaght city, Clondalkin town centre and other designated areas	Prepare a detailed operation programme to handle the specific demands of key town centres and other designated areas. Set targets and standards for the maintenance programme in such areas. Review standards in each area on a monthly basis	Pr C Pa A/C E
8. Prepare litter management, education and awareness programmes that promote community and business involvement, community identity and responsibility, personal responsibility, youth activity etc.	Organise a green school network to highlight litter and its negative effect. Arrange a school competition with an emphasis on the elimination of litter Encourage all schools to register for the green schools programme Prepare a litter awareness training programme for litter wardens Develop a package of supports including notices, leaflets and advertising to highlight the obligations of dog owners. Continue to promote anti litter campaigns. Prepare a survey to highlight the attitude of various sectors to litter in the County and develop a programme with representatives of communities, groups and businesses to implement the goal of the plan - South Dublin County Council – a litter free County. Encourage community involvement in the achievement of a litter free County Promote the use of Community Clean up Guidelines Engage with the organisations represented on the County Development Board to promote a litter free County as agreed in Priority Action 23 Promote the Social Credit System	Pr A/C Pa
9. Encourage active participation in Anti Litter Campaigns	Promote anti litter campaigns i.e. National Spring Clean, Promote participation in competitions such as Beautiful South Dublin County. Promote the anti litter campaigns using the website and social media Encourage the participation of the communities, schools, groups and businesses in anti-litter campaigns and the use of the Community Clean up Guidelines Publicise and highlight the results of the anti litter campaigns.	Pr, Pa, A/C
10. Develop a communications programme to promote a litter free County - including the promotion of the use of www.southdublin.ie and www.dublinwaste.ie	Make use of the different medias - Newsletter, Website, Notices in local press, Press release, Photo shoots, Social Media Highlight the anti litter message Prepare a yearly programme to target the various sectors within the County Develop the litter section of the website to ensure up to date information and constant development and improvement.	Pr A/C E Pa C
11. Optimise the application of available technology in the enforcement and prevention of litter	Deploy available technology such as CCTV where possible	Pr E A Pa
12. Utilise systematic data analysis systems to monitor and plan Litter management and decision making	Continue to participate in and utilise the National Litter Monitoring Survey to ensure informed decision making Continue to monitor the reports from IBAL Review data on a quarterly basis Update operational plan and actions based on review	Pr A E
Continue to research and implement best practice models	Examine initiatives in other local authorities and countries Instigate a programme of continuous improvement with regard to litter management and control	Pr E A/C C Pa
Ensure the provision of a litter management plan for all major events	Communicate the need for a litter management plan for all major events and enforce the conditions.	Pr, A/C

6. Conclusion

The Litter Management Plan for South Dublin County will extend from June 2011-2014. Progress on the implementation of the Plan will be reported to the South Dublin County Council Area Committees on a quarterly basis