# Rubbish being dumped



## howareya (19 Jul 2006)

What should i do.

Recently there has been alot of dumping of rubbish around my area. The odd black bag or super valu bag. Never in the same place but along the same road. 

Then only about two/three weeks ago someone dumped their lawnmower and washing machine outside the house myself and boyfriend are building.

This morning i went outside my current house and found a super valu bag of rubbish nearly on my door step. I actually taught i heard some one stop last night about 12 o clock and obviously thats what i heard.  Anyhow I found a payslip inside the bag ad know who it is. Unsurprisingly enough the perpetrator only lives a mile from me. 
I just want to know what the best thing to do is.

I will without any holding back go down to the persons house and knock on his door and hand him back the rubbish. No arguing but just the look of embarrasement would be good.

I want to know if the authorities would do anything if i phoned them.


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## MandaC (19 Jul 2006)

The authorities would almost certainly impose a hefty fine.

A previous place I worked in was having trouble with the same type of thing.  We found black bags one morning which had address details for somebody on it.  As far as I can remember they were fined almost €1,000.


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## Dearg Doom (19 Jul 2006)

I don't think there's anything can be done if you've interferred with the rubbish. The best thing to do next time domestic rubbish is dumped is call your local council who can send a litter warden to photograph the dumping and can then examine the contents for proof of ownership - they can then issue a fine.


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## nelly (19 Jul 2006)

ring the garda station and ask them what you should do, drop in the payslip to them and forget it. It happened to my dad and he found an addressed envelope in the in a black sack of rubbish dumped over a ditch onto his land where cattle were grazing, he left it into the gardai and nothing happened except it stopped.I can only presume that the gardai spoke to the person in question and they a)stopped or b)found a different remote spot and were not so silly with envelopes.


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## rkeane (19 Jul 2006)

Are you allowed to snoop through someone elses rubbish?  I understand your situation but maybe you should look at all angles before letting loose in order to avoid legal problems.


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## Howitzer (19 Jul 2006)

"*Illegal dumping*

The litter laws have increased the powers of your local authority to combat the problem of illegal dumping of refuse and rubbish. If you see someone dumping illegally, you should report the matter to your local authority who will investigate and take any necessary enforcement action. 
Alternatively *you can report illegal dumping to a* *24 hour lo-call telephone number* *1850 365 121*. Local authorities, the Environmental Protection Agency and an Garda Síochána will follow up on the information given as appropriate. Information that you give can be treated confidentially although you are encouraged to give your contact details as authorities may wish to follow- up with you in relation to the investigation of illegal dumping. 
*If your local authority finds material that is illegally dumped and establishes the identity of the owner of the material, that person will have a case to answer without necessarily having to be caught in the act.*"


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## whackin (19 Jul 2006)

It is quite clear cut when the payslip was found in the rubbish. Any local Authority or Garda worth their salt would have no hassle sorting this out! 
Don't let the litter lout get away with it!


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## howareya (19 Jul 2006)

rkeane said:
			
		

> Are you allowed to snoop through someone elses rubbish? I understand your situation but maybe you should look at all angles before letting loose in order to avoid legal problems.


 
Snoop through peoples rubbish???  Its on my property and they dumped it there ilegally.  I don't think that would be an issue


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## ninsaga (19 Jul 2006)

Have noticed more & more of this now as time goes by...which I expected now that people are getting 'pay-by-weight' bills from the council.

I recycle & compost yet my refuse charges are higher than when I binned everything.... so I'm not surprised that a few have taken the 'opportunity' to reduce their refuse charge by illegal dumping.

Now when the Cork County Council decide to increase their pay by weight charges whenever in the future it will add to the problem.

ninsaga


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## nelly (19 Jul 2006)

howareya said:
			
		

> Snoop through peoples rubbish???  Its on my property and they dumped it there ilegally.  I don't think that would be an issue



i would have thought this was true - sure you might not have been sure it was rubbish until you opened it. It seems like just another "technicality" that solicitor can use to get it thrown out if it went to court with the dumper objecting to the fine... 
you could always post the payslip back to the issuer with a note telling them where it was found if you felt strongly.  Personnally i wouldn't have the nerve to though.


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## howareya (19 Jul 2006)

I would have no problem what so ever actually bringing the rubbish back to the person who dumped it there (who's name is on the payslip).  

I think its the lowest of the low.  People paying a few hundred euro for refuse collection and then a minority not bothering at all.  Its discusting and the countryside is being ruined by it.

taking into account that I have opened the bag and found the payslip which i took out of the bag.  then i put the bag into MY rubbish bin (it can easily be taken out)  Is it worth contacting the authorities at all.


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## Polo-Boy (19 Jul 2006)

howareya said:
			
		

> I will without any holding back go down to the persons house and knock on his door and hand him back the rubbish. No arguing but just the look of embarrasement would be good.


 
I think this sounds like a great idea. You would get the satisfaction of seeing the look on his face, and he would have to have some neck to ever dump on your property again


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## nai (19 Jul 2006)

i know a litter warden for Fingal and they try to investigate every piece of illegal litter they find - they will always go through it and will impose hefty fines where possible - you should definitely report it - i wouldn't go to the neighbour as they may get stroppy at being caught out.


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## dereko1969 (19 Jul 2006)

if i were you, i'd put this rubbish including the payslip back into a bag, leave it outside your door then ring your local county council and have them deal with it after that. there are serious fines for this type of outrageous behaviour. the person can hardly say at the court case that 'i don't recognise that bag, the rubbish bag i used was white!' can they? a former colleague of mine got prosecuted after the person she'd paid to take rubbish away had dumped her rubbish down a lane in clondalkin, she managed to explain this to the judge and was let off. if you go to the persons house they'll just find somewhere else to dump it and it will be someone else's problem. report them!


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## whackin (19 Jul 2006)

Absolutely agree! This is just ridiculous behaviour and is reflective of the bad side of this country. Basically a proportion of people behaving with no regard to society in general!


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## Lorz (19 Jul 2006)

The EPA have launched a new campaign called ‘Dump the Dumpers’ where  the public can report illegal dumping via a 24 hour lo-call telephone number 1850 365 121. Local authorities, the gardaí and the EPA will follow up on the information provided by the public, as appropriate. 
[broken link removed]

Before this campaign, your course of action would have been to contact the Environment section of your LA but TBH the only authority that I have come across who seem to actively work on illegal dumping are Kerry County Council who AFAIK even have insepctors out after hours and weekends investigating such incidents.


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## Oilean Beag (19 Jul 2006)

We had similar problems over the years, which became progressively worse with the bin charges. Phoned the local litter warden  who , on every occasion,  pursued the perpetrator and arranged for removal of waste.  Its really worth your while at least flagging the problem with them, for future reference. They can only do a good job with thew help of vigilant residents.


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## hotlips (19 Jul 2006)

SNB said:
			
		

> We had similar problems over the years, which became progressively worse with the bin charges. Phoned the local litter warden who , on every occasion, pursued the perpetrator and arranged for removal of waste. Its really worth your while at least flagging the problem with them, for future reference. They can only do a good job with thew help of vigilant residents.


 
I second that. I have reported littering to the county council litter warden and they pursued every case. Certainly Dun Laoghaire Rathdown CoCo take it seriously. You should definitely contact the county council. People like that are ruining our countryside and towns and they should absolutely be pursued for the cost of disposing of their waste and fined. With regard to the payslip, if the case went to court with you as a witness, your evidence that you found it in the bag might be accepted. Certainly an eyewitness report of dumping from a car is accepted as evidence in court. They might ask you if you would be prepared to appear as a witness in court if it came to that. It might never come to that though and that shouldn't stop you reporting it in the first instance.

Good luck and I hope these people learn their lesson.


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## cerberos (19 Jul 2006)

Dump it where you can is the motto.

I pay Bin charge evry 2 weeks and some one has left a black bag full out site my wall. I even placed it beside the bin but the left it. I refuse to put it in my bin and pay for it.

It happens a lot around where i live as the renters (non Irish) feel its OK to leave bags of rubbish where they like.

The more "responsible ones" leave them beside public litter bins.

If I move this bag I will probably be caught and fined


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## Oilean Beag (19 Jul 2006)

Report that bag of rubbish left beside your bin to the litter warden ! Just because it is in proximity to a bin does not make it not litter. The warden will then check it out & have it removed. If people don't avail of the services of the litter wardens, the gov will begin to see them as incapable and/or pointless & cut spending on them.


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## SteelBlue05 (19 Jul 2006)

If only the litter wardens were more like the Clampers!


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## Oilean Beag (19 Jul 2006)

And people took the same attitude to cars aprked illegally on or about their property as they do to litter about their property. !!!!


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## MandaC (19 Jul 2006)

Its also quite annoying to see the number of black rubbish bins that appear magically on the road as if beamed in from another planet.  I drive up the Fonthill Road and almost every morning a new black bag of rubbish appears.

I would have no hesitation in reporting these louts.


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## mell61 (19 Jul 2006)

While living in an apartment we had a problem with other residents using our wheelie bin to dispose of their rubbish.
I finally had enough when on a hot weekend I found a couple of paper bags of rubbish which included a cooked chicken that was 'maggoty'!
I donned my rubber gloves removed all the stuff, and finding a letter in one of the bags (she had applied for a job as voting staff during last election) high ended it over to her house in a state of high strop!    She wasn't in...   so i left it all, with her letter pinned to the top of it, outside her door... she came back from a weekend away about 4 days later!   Needless to say it stank.... 
We got a length of chain and a padlock and drilled a hole in the bin so that we could lock it.


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## howareya (21 Jul 2006)

Anyhow just to keep every one informed.

I went into the guards just for advise.  They said there probably wasn't much point in reporting it.  But if i wanted to I could becausee the environment croud would be contacting them, if i reported it to the environment section.  So as a matter of principle I reported it to the gardai.

Then I rang the environment section of my local Co Co.  The lady said the letter warden would give me a ring. I've heard nothing yet.

Meanwhile I'm sick of picking up the rubbish off my lawn.  The birds and cats don't exactly know its "evidence"  what am i suppose to do leave it on my front lawn flithered everywhere.  Its discusting.  

Anyhow I',m not impressed with the service so far. Watch this space !!!!!


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## Eurofan (21 Jul 2006)

howareya said:
			
		

> Anyhow I',m not impressed with the service so far. Watch this space !!!!!



Well done and do let us know what happens.


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## RainyDay (21 Jul 2006)

howareya said:
			
		

> Then I rang the environment section of my local Co Co.  The lady said the letter warden would give me a ring. I've heard nothing yet.


DOn't wait for the call. Ring them once a day, every day - until the office staff get so sick of hearing from you that they will make sure the warden gets in touch.


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## howareya (26 Jul 2006)

I rang the environment section again yesterday as i had heard nothing from the litter warden.  He was actually away on hols all week but rang me back nearly straight away yesterday.

He was out at my house within half an hour to collect the bag.  He took photos of where it was dumped and took it away for analysis.

He did tell me that they normally wouldn't call out for such a small bag of rubbish but as i knew there was evidence of the owner of the rubbish in it he came straight away.

He'll definately get a fine and hopefully will think twice about dumping it outside my front door again.

I have to say the litter warden was very good and can't fault them at all.  I'd report dumped rubbish again in the morning without any hesitation.  And suggest everyone else do the same.


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## whackin (26 Jul 2006)

That's brilliant news!! Well done on being so persistant on it!


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## RainyDay (27 Jul 2006)

Congrats - Great result all round.


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