Holiday home-owners’ refuse disposal rubbished

Clare County Council is urging holiday home owners in West Clare to refrain from using public bins at coastal locations to dispose of their domestic refuse.

Since the beginning the warm spell of weather, the council says it has recorded a significant increase in the incidence of domestic rubbish being placed alongside bins at Kilkee and Lahinch. 
“Holiday home owners and other householders are reminded that the onus is on them to dispose of their domestic waste at either of the Council’s West Clare Civic Amenity Site Recycling Centres at Lisdeen and Ballyduffbeg or to avail of a private refuse collection service,” explained Environment Section spokesperson, Mary Skehan.

“The record volume of people visiting our beaches has resulted in an increase in littering and the council has employed additional resources and installed extra bins to ensure the problem is minimised.

“However, some people are taking advantage of the situation by depositing domestic refuse at our bin collection points. Such dumping is unsightly and tarnishes the image of the locations in question and indeed, it is a breach of the Litter Act,” she said.

Meanwhile, Clare County Council is also urging visitors to Clare’s main beaches to take responsibility for their rubbish by bringing it home with them.
“The council wishes to acknowledge those who have used the public bins to dispose of their litter. These bins are emptied regularly each day but often reach their capacity due to the unprecedented large volumes of visitors to the beaches,” Ms Skehan acknowledged.

“In Kilkee, we are finding that some people are dumping their litter along the seawall, on the beach or beside already full bins rather than bring their litter home with them. We have installed additional bins to counteract the problem but would continue to ask the public to take responsibility for their rubbish.

“Leaving or throwing litter in a public place is an offence that can be subject to an on-the-spot fine of €150 or a maximum fine of €3,000 if you are convicted of a litter offence in the District Court.
Council litter wardens will take action where they deem necessary so we would advise the public to be wary of the law around littering. After all, indiscriminate dumping of picnic litter and other rubbish does not create a positive image for any beach or for local tourism,” she emphasised.

Ms Skehan pointed out that local volunteers have been of great assistance to council staff in dealing with rubbish on the beaches but people must “be more civic minded” when it comes to cleaning up after themselves.