COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

MOTION NO. 9

MOTION: Councillor T. Delaney

That this Committee in believing that enforcement has a huge role to play in tackling the escalating litter/dumping problem in the Clondalkin Electoral Area recommends the establishment of a mobile surveillance team(s) to patrol the county gathering evidence for prosecution purposes with particular emphasis on blackspots.

REPORT:

The Council undertakes several operations to address the issues of dumping, fly tipping and littering in the Clondalkin Electoral Area involving patrols by the Litter Wardens, a Private Contractor to undertake Road Sweeping and Gulley Cleaning and the Cleansing Department and Operations Unit based in Ballymount who undertake daily waste removal from roads, green spaces, housing estates.

Main roads in the area due to their nature are scheduled for monthly sweeping, whilst housing estates are swept 4 times a year. The litter bins are collected on a regular basis from Monday to Friday.

The areas are inspected by the local Litter Warden to examine the extent of the litter issues and to examine the need for additional measures (including litter bins) and enforcement action.   It should be noted that local businesses are required to maintain the areas near their premises to a satisfactory standard and that the Warden as a matter of course enforces this.

The Council regularly reviews the Road Sweeping Operation with the Private Contractor to ensure that a certain standard of work is maintained at all times. The Council  monitors the litter bins to ensure that domestic waste and bags of side waste are not deposited into these bins as has been witnessed on some occasions.

The staff of the Cleansing department and Operations unit does its best to remove as much waste and litter as possible from all areas within the County.  The information regarding dumping, littering and fly tipping is collated from Customer Care reports, litter wardens and staff inspections.

In a further effort to enhance the Council’s enforcement role, a number of CCTV cameras are being deployed at the following locations under the Public Realm Initiative:- Quarryvale Park, Kilcronan Court, St Marks Avenue and Oatfield Avenue.

However it is up to the residents to contribute to keeping the areas free of litter and this may mean reporting those who are observed littering or dumping to the Council litter wardens, or carrying out local clean ups.  The most important thing that communities can do is to make sure that they are not adding to the litter problem by not throwing their rubbish on the ground and instead using public litter bins or their own domestic bins to dispose of their waste or become more environmentally friendly when it comes to plastic bags, cans, paper and bottles by recycling them. The Community Clean up and the Social Credit Scheme also contribute to the cleanliness of the area as it allows the communities to take their own responsibility and moves towards eradicating the litter problem.

The objectives of the Litter Management Plan frame the work programmes for the various sections of the Council which assign specific resources and tasks to tackling the problems of dumping. These actions coupled with community interaction should address the existing litter matters and any other matters arising following the ending of the existing waiver system in 2012.