Council is losing the litter fight

Council is losing the litter fight

11 January 2012 - by DAVID TELFORD

DOWN Council’s chief executive has admitted the local authority is “fighting a losing battle” against litter louts across the district.

Mr. John Dumigan said he is concerned at the scale of the problem and revealed over £1m a year is being spent clearing up after the litter louts and illegal dumpers.

The chief executive says the council needs the public’s help to get on top of the litter problem, arguing that success on this front will release cash to be invested in other projects.

Mr. Dumigan said people who litter streets or engage in illegal dumping somehow fail to realise that ultimately they end up paying for it to be removed through their rates.

He believes people across the district need to generate more civic pride in their areas and take responsibility for what’s happening.

“Down Council will support and facilitate that, but it’s quite obvious to me that we can’t beat the litter problem on our own,” said the chief executive.

“The council isn’t generating the litter, but is increasingly pouring more and more money into lifting it. It’s quite obvious we need to take a different approach to this issue which is costing ratepayers £1m a year.”

Mr. Dumigan appealed to people who discard litter to stop and think about what they are doing and the fact they they end up paying for its removal.

“Our street cleansing staff are doing their best, but are not getting any help from the members of the public who continue to dump waste,” he continued.

Last week, Mr. Dumigan was horrified to come across a huge pile of waste that had been illegally dumped at a car park at the historic Struell Wells area outside Downpatrick.

He was visiting the site with other council officials to discuss plans to build a new path to link a stone chair used by St. Patrick when he visited Struell Wells.

Mr. Dumigan said he was “disgusted” by the site of the waste and couldn’t believe whoever was responsible for dumping it didn’t drive another half a mile to dispose of the material at the council’s civic amenity site at the Cloonagh Road.

“I simply do not understand the mentality of people who engage in this type of behaviour,” he declared.

“Fly-tipping as it’s known is a district-wide problem and I don’t see why people won’t use the facilities that are provided for them to get rid of their waste.”