People using public bins for household rubbish

The solution however is not “more bins” say the local authority

There has been an increase in the level of people using public street bins to dispose of household rubbish, the November meeting of Cavan County Council heard.

The solution however is not “more bins” say the local authority, who stand by the policy that it is the polluter who should pay for getting rid of refuse.

The debate kicked off on foot of a motion tabled by Fianna Fáil’s Clifford Kelly at the November monthly meeting of Cavan County Council.

He asked the executive about bins and street cleaning in the county, commending the work of Tidy Towns committees who Cllr Kelly said do “Trojan work” in keeping streets clean.

But he stated there are times the volunteers simply “can’t keep up” with the amount of work required.

In his native town of Kingscourt, he lamented a lack of bins. For comparison he visited a neighbouring town to see what was happening there. He reported to the meeting that this town had bins located every 50 or so metres either side of the street.

Cllr Kelly said he spoke to the Tidy Towns volunteers there who remarked that the presence of bins made a “huge difference”.

He suggested that the council should allocate individual ground staff to cleaning towns around the county in future, though accepted “finance is a problem all over it seems because of the situation with the roads”.

Regardless, Cllr Kelly stated that it “gave the wrong impression” to people visiting if they arrived to see the streets and footpaths of local towns not swept.

The motion was supported by party colleague Áine Smith who believes that bins should be allocated to all towns and not just be available in some.

Independent Brendan Fay stated that in Belturbet there were a “lot of old bins”, and even at that the bins down by the River Erne were often found “overflowing”. Given the number of visitors to this area, Cllr Fay said it didn’t create a good impression of the county.

Fine Gael’s TP O’Reilly highlighted a “lot of good work” taking place to try tackle litter and illegal dumping.

He didn’t agree with the need for additional bins, saying that in many cases they are being used to dispose of “a lot of domestic waste”.

Solar bins, he noted, were expensive- priced at up to €10,000 each.

Cllr Patricia Walsh (FF) also voiced disappointment at the use of public bins to dispose of household refuse.

The motion was coupled with that tabled by Aidan Fitzpatrick who himself asked that the council write to the relevant minister to enforce a situation where each household - owner, landlord or tenant - is contracted to a waste and recycling contractor.

Legislation passed in 2020 included regulation of domestic waste charges as well as support the continuing effort to tackle illegal dumping and littering.

Cllr Fitzpatrick said he recently called to a family home who have three bins costing €30 per month or €1 per day. However, their neighbour had gone and refuse was left strewn on the property.

“It’s disgusting to look at,” he said, asking also that bye-laws obliging consumers to participate in an authorised waste collection service or provide documentary proof of responsible disposal be “enforced”.

Cllr Carmel Brady (FG) seconded Cllr Fitzpatrick’s motion, saying the Tidy Towns members in Cootehill were out at weekends clearing takeaway bags and boxes.

She said there were no bins in Cootehill, but asked if the council had ever approached the private sector about emptying bins more regularly.

Cllr Craig Lovett (FF) also asked about “outsourcing” the emptying of bins.

Aontú’s Sarah O’Reilly said there was a “knack” to households learning to recycle and, once implemented, families would find that “most things can be recycled”.

Sinn Féin’s Paddy McDonald was in agreement.

Director of Services Paddy Connaughton commended the work of Tidy Towns volunteers also, and stated that they sometimes deserved “better recognition” for their work.

He too was unsure about installing more bins, emphasising the “personal responsibility” of people to bring their rubbish home with them.

“The polluter pays,” he said, accepting that bins being filled with domestic rubbish has become a “serious problem” in some areas.

Outsourcing, he said, was “possible but expensive”.

The council has the power to issue Fixed Charge Penalty Notices of €75 to people breaking laws around disposal of household waste.

He said none had been issued for the past two years, in part due to Covid, but that could change going forward.

The council’s ultimate focus, however, remains on educating people.