Labour Councillor Pio Smith has said that the law that prevents councils from using CCTV cameras to catch illegal dumpers needs to be updated rather than spending hundreds of thousands of Euro every year cleaning up the mess they leave.
“The scourge of fly tipping and illegal dumping in Drogheda and surrounding areas has been a blight on our community for years” he says.
“There are some people living in our town who have no regard for the town or the environment” he continued.
“They sneer at the vast majority of people who abide by the law and dispose of their rubbish in a responsible manner.
“They also laugh at the fact that their illegal dumping will be paid for by responsible citizens.
Councillor Smith said that in 2019, 758.48 tonnes of fly tipping/bulky waste was collected in Drogheda at a cost of €25,826.24 in direct disposal costs alone.
On top of that was the cost to the council of sending workers and lorries to pick this material up, or the cost of paying for litter wardens, six of whom are employed on a full time basis by Louth County Council and supplied with vans for transport at a little over €300,000 per annum.
Two of the wardens are assigned full time to Drogheda, another two to Dundalk and the remaining two cover the remainder of the county including towns, villages and rural areas.
Despite the media publicity and general campaigning the problem is getting worse. In 2020, the amount of fly tipping/bulky waste collected in Drogheda rose 792.12 tonnes with the disposal costs also rose – to €26,971.69 (VAT at 13.5% included).
“There is a lot that could be done with the money that is spent on cleaning up after illegal dumpers” Councillor Smith said. “We need CCTV legislation updated to allow local authorities to place cameras at dumping hotspots.
“Louth County Council had funding to install cameras in 2020 but was prevented from doing so by GDPR. This needs to change.”
