Clampdown on illegal dumpers as Dublin City Council expands CCTV monitoring
Dumping at the bring centre at Seamus Ennis Road(Image: Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin North West, Paul McAuliffe)Illegal dumpers in Dublin could soon face tough action, as Dublin City Council moves to expand CCTV monitoring and introduce new enforcement schemes targeting waste non-compliance.Councillor Anthony Connaghan voiced his frustration over the scale of illegal dumping in Finglas, Ballymun, and the North Road at this week’s North West Area committee meeting. With a motion requesting an updated report on initiatives to deter dumping, new measures were revealed that could be spread across the city by next year.Cllr Connaghan said he’s increasingly concerned about persistent illegal dumping black spots. He said it seems those leaving the waste consider the Council a “soft touch” and that “they can just throw a bag anywhere they want and the Council will lift it.”Head of Waste Management Barry Woods acknowledged the scale of the dumping problem in the North West Area. He stated that up to last week, the Council had received 5,620 service requests related to illegal dumping, making it one of the most affected parts of the city.Mr Woods outlined two key schemes currently being used to tackle the problem, a CCTV project and a new “reverse register” system aimed at identifying those that have been illegally dumping. The CCTV is already active in parts of the North East Inner city and has shown promising results.A black bin bag beside an empty beer bottle on the side of a path (Stock)(Image: Getty)“The second phase will see cameras installed at Bring Bank locations where there’s significant dumping and scavenging,” he said. “And then, we’ll work with area officers and put CCTV at black spots around the city.”The reverse register scheme aims to allow the Council to identify households without a waste collection contract. Gaining Eircodes of registered houses from waste collectors will allow the Council to build a register of non-compliant homes and, if they fail to sign up to a provider, be potentially prosecuted when caught dumping.Prosecuting illegal dumping has always been a challenge, Mr Woods said, as those leaving the waste don’t leave behind any identifiable material. “When people illegally dump they do not keep personal information in the black bags, so getting a prosecution is very difficult from that scenario,” he said.Phase 2 of the CCTV rollout is expected to begin early next year, following a pending Data Protection Impact Assessment. Mr Woods estimated the reverse register project currently occurring in the Central Electoral Area will take between six to twelve months to complete before being rolled out across the city.This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting SchemeJoin our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content.We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
