Bring bank CCTV to be introduced by council

CLARE County Council is introducing the use of stationary and mobile CCTV surveillance at the county’s 53 bring banks in an effort to curb the misuse of the facilities.

 

To date in 2012, for bring bank sites alone, Clare County Council has issued 16 litter fines with a total value of fines of €2,400, while enforcement actions are pending in a number of cases.

The council outlined a number of examples of abuse of the bring banks as a reason for the increased surveillance, including illegal dumping of general waste at the sites, the discarding of containers used to carry the recyclable materials to the bring bank site and the depositing of recyclable materials at the bring banks at times when the bring banks happen to be full to capacity.

The council stated some business are depositing glass bottles and drinks cans at the bring bank sites, despite the fact the facilities are specifically designed to facilitate householders only.

According to John O’Malley, executive engineer, Waste Recycling, “Businesses such as pubs and restaurants can meet their waste management obligations by ensuring their commercial waste, including glass bottles and drinks cans, is collected by a permitted waste collector.”

“Members of public should not leave any waste, container or other material at the bring bank, other than the waste types such as glass, drink cans and so on that are allowed to be deposited in the bring bank receptacles.

“The council and its contractors make every effort to ensure bring banks are emptied and serviced on a regular basis but if a bring bank should happen to be full, then members of the public should notify the council and take their waste home with them or, alternatively, use another bring bank site located nearby.

“In many instances, bring banks are located on private lands such as car parks with the permission and co-operation of the landowner. In circumstances where bring bank sites are subject to ongoing abuse the landowners may, understandably,  wish to withdraw their permission and this, in turn, can reduce the level of waste recycling services in that particular community,” Mr. O’Malley added.

He continued, “In order to combat abuse of the bring banks, the council is using both stationary and mobile CCTV surveillance to detect improper use and those detected can be subjected to an on-the-spot litter fine of €150 or a fine of up to €3,000 if found guilty in court.

“The council will continue its efforts to ensure a high-quality waste recycling service is provided to the public in County Clare and that bring bank sites are treated in a respectful way by all users.”