THE contents of an illegal dump site in Bantry filled an entire skip, according to a local councillor, but what was even more disturbing was that most of the rubbish was recyclable.
Cllr Danny Collins (Ind) said a major clean-up operation was carried out recently on privately-owned site at Old Barrack Road, a laneway that has been used for illegal dumping for years.
‘The landowner in all of this is totally blameless,’ said Cllr Collins, who praised him for working with Cork County Council to clear the site and to fence it off to prevent public access to the laneway in future.
‘Well over a skip worth of rubbish was taken out,’ he told The Southern Star, ‘but a lot of it – like cans, bottles and plastic – could have been recycled if those who did the dumping had taken the time to bring it to a bring site or civic amenity centre.’
Cllr Collins said illegal dumping is not confined to Bantry. ‘The situation is getting out of hand throughout West Cork. There’s a whole lot of illegal dumping taking place in every town and village, and out of the way rural settings are being used as dumping grounds.’
The councillor also appealed to people not to use unlicensed refuse collectors.
‘I would plead with people to use the authorised facilities because we don’t want refuse being disposed of illegally.’
