‘Disgraceful’ dumping of old tyres, mattresses and cookers in Tipperary

Tipperary householders will soon be questioned by litter inspectors as to how they dispose of their rubbish, heard this month’s Cashel Tipperary municipal district.

Director of environment services at Tipperary Co Council Sean Keating said they had adopted new waste management bylaws at the end of last year, and will be carrying out inspections on individual households regarding refuse.

The burial grounds at Waller’s Lot in Cashel, and Donohill, had attracted illegal dumping. Some six littering fines had been handed out in the district in 2018, combined with anti dog-fouling initiatives in Cahir and Clonmel.

Huge improvements have been seen along the River Ara in Tipp town, and county Tipperary has also adopted a new climate adaptation strategy, added Mr Keating.

Cllr Michael Fitzgerald said “we are unable to stop the scourge of ongoing littering in the county.”

The Thomastown to Bansha road seems to be a particular target for dumping, with old tyres, mattresses, cookers, thrown out. “It's a disgrace. People indiscriminately doing things like that is not good enough. We are losing the battle.” Every time you look at Kilshane woods, you see cars and trucks pulling up, and people rubbishing there “constantly.”

“We have put in CCTV, but we're just not able to get to grips with it.” Cllr Fitzgerald suggested an initiative whereby, one day a week would be designated a ‘free day’ to legally dispose of rubbish in local waste management facilities.

“People do not realise it's left to others to pick up.” He had seen “buckets of liquid” dumped by the wayside.

Meanwhile, election candidates were asked to confine their posters to areas not being judged in the tidy towns contests. With 467 complaints, it shows that “people really do care about their environment,” said Cllr Denis Leahy. An inspection of the River Ara had found 26 mobile phones in one area. “You could not understand why people would throw away their mobile phones into the river.”

The disposal of old mattresses is especially difficult as they have to be broken up using expensive equipment the Council cannot afford, explained Mr Keating. The mattresses take up a lot of space in local landfills, and space in these landfills is already scarce.

Cllr Leahy suggested imposing a levy to get rid of beds, known as a ‘producer responsibility initiative.’

Full story in this week's Tipperary Story.