COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, January 13, 2020

QUESTION NO. 4

QUESTION: Councillor Carly Bailey

To ask the Chief Executive to outline the number of Litter Wardens and Waste Enforcement Officers working in the County and to confirm how many are on duty at any one time. Would the Chief Executive care to make a statement on the matter?

REPLY:

There are five full time Litter Wardens and four Waste Enforcment Officers currently employed by South Dublin County Council. Since 2009 the full complement of Litter Wardens is six. Temporary cover is provided by the existing Wardens in respect of short-term absences due to annual or other leave. The full complement of Waste Enforcement Officers is six. Despite numerous competitions for Waste Enforcment Officers, at various grades, the Council has been unable to fill all vacant WEO positions.  

All incidents of litter, illegal dumping, unauthorised signage and abandoned vehicles reported or detected in any area are investigated by the Council's Litter Warden Service and all dumped material is searched for evidence. Where evidence is found, the appropriate enforcement action is taken under the Litter Pollution Act 1997, as amended. Increasingly, it is found that no personal information relating to polluters is contained within the dumped material, with personal information having been removed or shredded. As part of the Council's commitment to deliver on the objectives of the Corporate Plan and Litter Management Plan, there has been an increased targeted focus on known litter generator areas. Similarly, there has been a raised visibility of our Warden Service through branded vehicles, and several structured routes have been identified for continuous patrol, as well as ad hoc patrols and investigations as required. 3891 incidents reported or detected have been investigated by the Litter Warden Service up to the end of November 2019.

In accordance with the Waste Management Act 1996 and associated legislation, Waste Enforcement Officers carry out compliance inspections of permited waste facilities/collectors (51 facilities, 121 collectors), producer responsibiltiy iniatives (Tyres, Packaging, Batteries, WEEE), construction sites, illegal waste collections, household waste compliance and incidents of large scale dumping of waste. Waste Enforcement Officers complete inspections on the basis of cradle to grave to ensure compliance by all persons generating, transporting and treating waste. To assist in the investigations, officers utilise technologies including drones, action cameras and covert cctv, whilst enlisting cooperation from Gardaí, neighbouring LA's and other agencies.

Administrative support for the Litter Warden Service and Waste Enforcment Officers is provided by 7.6 WTE staff within the Enforcement and Licencing Section. Support is also provided by the Council's Law Department in respect of prosecutions.

Provision has been made in the adopted 2020 budget for expenditure of €741,900 on the Litter Warden Service and €806,500 on Waste Enforcement Services.