Rubbish dumped along East Clare Way

A BANK holiday weekend stroller was shocked and disgusted to discover a pile of domestic rubbish, as well as a washing machine, in a forested area along the East Clare Way.
Seán Allison from Broadford set out for a scenic walk on Bank Holiday Monday and had looked up his route online from the East Clare Way website. He decided to follow the loop walk from Kilbane to Broadford but his outing was spoiled by the obscene rubbish tip.
Instead of returning from his walk with images of beautiful scenes and landscapes, Seán returned with photographs of refuse sacks and discarded home appliances.
“I took a walk on part of the East Clare Way scenic walking route, which has some absolutely wonderful views visible. The section was from Kilbane to Broadford and you can guess my absolute astonishment when I came across a large amount of domestic rubbish that has been dumped into the forest. I certainly felt disgusted at the sight of this abuse of our countryside,” Seán told The Clare Champion.
The Broadford resident said he was appalled that part of a well-regarded tourist attraction had been marred by such a deliberate action.
“This was the first time I’ve ever been up on that route and I was impressed with the scenery. It is fabulous and then all of a sudden, I came across this washing machine. I couldn’t believe it. I was disgusted. There we were enjoying a beautiful walk and then the washing machine and I thought what the hell is a washing machine doing up here? There were bags of rubbish scattered for about 50 yards.
“I just went out for the walk on the day that was in it and I said I’ll bring the camera. It had been a dull day and it wasn’t very clear to get scenic photos but when I came on this, I said I have to take a picture of this and let people know. It’s a disgrace. So I came home with no scenery pictures,” Seán added.
Seán said that he noticed tyre tracks nearby. “It was open enough for a four-by-four to get in or you’d get a tractor up there but you wouldn’t have got a regular car up there. It was just such an awful thing to see.
“It just annoys me that people would be throwing rubbish on one of the tourist trails that we advertise and I wonder what seeing this would do for those visiting the area,” he commented.
Speaking to The Clare Champion, a spokesperson for the East Clare Way acknowledged that there has been an issue with dumping along the popular walking route and advised that the area is constantly monitored.
“We would normally do a schedule report of rubbish dumping along our routes, which would be reported to Clare County Council. This kind of dumping takes from the walk but unfortunately, there is very little we can do.
“A lot of the areas are isolated and would be private lands. This is not something unique to Clare, it is happening all over the place,” she said.
A spokesperson for Clare County Council outlined that while they had received no official report of dumping along the East Clare Way, they said they would look into the matter.
The spokesperson said that where the dumping may be occurring on private land, a letter would be issued to the landowner to dispose of the waste.