DONEGAL County Council has vowed to continue pouring in resources to tackle the scourge of illegal dumping.
An investigation is continuing after the illegal dumping of 28 tonnes of rubbish on a site outside Falcarragh recently.
Household, construction and agricultural items were illegally dumped at the site. The clean up operation cost Donegal County Council €12,000.
Many of the items were easily recyclable, the council said. It has called on culprits to desist. The local authority has seen an increase of 79 per cent in funding to deal with the illegal activity, but says eradicating the blight is a community response.
Under the 2018 Anti Dumping Initiative, the local authority secured €69,000 in funding. This year, such funding from the Department of Environment jumped to €135,000 for campaigns to fight illegal dumping and clean-up operations when the criminal activity takes place.
In response to a number of questions from the Donegal News, a spokesperson for Donegal County Council said the local authority takes all incidents of illegal dumping seriously, and works with the community to identify culprits, clean up the area and put measures in place to prevent a reoccurrence.
“In 2022 Donegal County Council made a successful application for Anti-Dumping Initiative funding and secured funding of €135,000 from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.
“Funding was also secured for equipment for our community groups, equipment to deter littering, a half price bulky goods collection drive at our Recycling Centres, awareness raising campaigns for visitors to the County and a Household Waste Management Survey. The funding also provided for several clean-ups of illegal dumping sites identified by the Council’s Environment Team in conjunction with the public. One such site was identified in 2022 and in recent days 28 tonnes of illegally dumped waste was removed and disposed of from it in a responsible manner by a permitted waste collector.”
Donegal County Council praised the dedication and hard work of volunteers, who work tirelessly to keep the county looking so well.
The public are being reminded to always deal with their waste in a responsible manner and to use a permitted waste collector. Waste and recycling services are available in Dungloe, Milford, Letterkenny, Laghey, Stranorlar and Carndonagh. There is also a network of 70 Bring Banks for glass and can recycling.
Anyone with concerns regarding any instance of unauthorised waste activity to call Donegal County Council Contact Centre on (074) 91 53900 from 9am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday or e-mail info@donegalcoco.ie or report it with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 24-hour line 1850 365121.
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