To call on Roscommon County Council to establish and lead a multi-agency group to address landlords and tenants who fail to adhere to the correct methods of household waste disposal.

To call on Roscommon County Council to establish and lead a multi-agency group to address landlords and tenants who fail to adhereto the correct methods ofhousehold waste disposal.

The Meetings Administrator read the following reply:

The Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authorities (WERLA) areresponsible for co-ordinating the waste enforcement actions of Local Authorities, settingpriorities and common objectives for waste enforcement, and ensuring consistency of enforcement of waste legislation while leaving local authority personnel as first responders on theground. Connacht-Ulster WERLA (CUWERLA) currently represent theLocal Authority sector on the Connacht Ulster Multi AgencyNetwork whichhasacoordinationroleinrelation to illegalwasteactivity inthe region.

Locally, Roscommon County Council's Waste and Litter Enforcement Team work in collaboration with CUWERLA, Roscommon County Council Housing Liaison Officer, Roscommon County Council Planning Department, HSE Environmental HealthOfficer and An Garda Síochána.

Eachyear Roscommon County Council Waste andLitter Enforcement Team carryout Waste Bye-law surveys to ensurehousehold and commercial premisesin the county are disposing of their waste incompliance with the requirementsof Roscommon County Council (Segregation,Storage and Presentationof Household and CommercialWaste) Bye-laws, 2019.To comply withthe Bye-laws theoccupier needs todemonstrate that they have acontract withanauthorised wastecollector, ordemonstrateregular useofanauthorisedwastefacility.

Since the start of 2023the Waste and Litter Enforcement Team have carried out 814 waste bye-lawsurveys on households and commercialpremises in the county concentratingon the Ballaghaderreen Area.

In 2023 Roscommon County Council produced a booklet "Your Guide to Household Waste Management & Recycling in County Roscommon" funded under the Anti-Dumping Initiative to raise awareness on how households in the county should correctly dispose of their waste. Each yearRoscommon County Council also runs a Waste Presentation Bye-Law Awareness campaign onlocal radio andlocal medial using ADIfunding to raiseawareness underthe Anti-DumpingInitiative.

Asthe largestlandlord inthe county, Council tenants  enter into atenancy lettingagreement wherebythey mustkeep thepremises in a clean,tidy andsanitary condition, andto dispose of rubbish securely inwheelie bins orother suitable waste receptacles; and to remove andproperly dispose of unwanted items which arenot collected in the normal household waste collection service at anauthorised waste collection facility, or to arrange to have such items collectedby a personwho holds a valid waste collectionpermit authorisingthe collection ofsuch waste items.

On behalf of the Director of Services Caitlín Conneely, Corporate Services Senior Executive Officer Declan Dolan stated:

·         The onus is on householders to dispose of their waste in a proper manner.

·         Householders are obliged to ensure they have evidence of proper disposal.

·         The establishment of a new layer of management is unnecessary as the Council already works closely with the relevant stakeholders to address non-compliance in relation to household waste disposal.

·         The Council would continue this work alongside public information campaigns to remind householders of their obligations.

Cllr. Frain complemented Roscommon County Council’s environment and waste management teams.  Cllr. Frain said there was a minority of people who had no regard in complying with the litter by-laws.  As a result, hard sanctions are required and asked if the installation of CCTV cameras would assist as a deterrent.

Seconding the motion, Cllr. Keogh said it was difficult to bring prosecutions against offenders.

He asked why particular focus on illegal dumping is on the Ballaghaderreen area, as this is a county wide problem.

Members supported the motion.

Responding, Acting Director of Services Greg O’Donnell stated:

·         WERLA are progressive, they have maps showing households that don’t have a registered bin service, allowing targeted approach to household surveys.

·         For van collection services that are dumping, there does need to be a multi-agency approach, and this requires more planning.

·         Based on evidence, Ballaghaderreen has a high rate of illegal dumping, and was targeted as a result.

·         Overt CCTV is allowed to be used at bottle banks, signs need to be up to state that. The use of covert CCTV is now approved, restrictions are quite onerous with stringent justification on same.  There is the opportunity to use this, there is some progress in this area.

·         Education will continue regarding general littering.

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Frain

SECONDED by Cllr. Keogh

It was AGREED to write to the Minister for Environment seeking the imposition of tougher and increased new fines to deter illegal dumping.

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Frain

SECONDED by Cllr. Crosby

It was AGREED to circulate this notice of motion to all local authorities seeking support on the imposition of tougher new penalties to deter illegal dumping.