We are trying to tackle illegal dumping and the closure of our civic amenity sites on a Monday isn't helping.
WE are trying to tackle illegal dumping and the closure of our civic amenity sites on a Monday isn’t helping.
That’s according to Cllr Danny Collins (Ind), who said it was hard to believe there is no civic amenity site, west of Bandon, open on a Monday and that the centres in Castletownbere and Schull are only open 20 hours a week
He formally tabled a motion at the West Cork Municipal District (WCMD) meeting calling on the Council to extend the opening hours of the recycling and refuse collection centres in Castletownbere, Schull and Clonakilty.
The councillor said he recently attended the AGM of the Castletownbere Development Association and the members complained that the opening hours of their civic amenity site were not adequate to deal with demand.
‘In a time when our Government and local authorities are trying to tackle illegal dumping in our lovely countryside we, as a local authority, should be leading by example and extending our opening hours.’
Cllr Collins called on Cork County Council to do just that, especially during the summer months, because tourists returning home on a Monday – after spending a week or weekend in West Cork – need to have a place where they can safely, and legally, dispose of their rubbish.
Cllr Paul Hayes (SF) seconded the motion and said he, too, attended the meeting in Castletownbere, where the issue has become ‘a bugbear.’
He said that when the changes to the opening times of the civic amenity sites were first announced, the divisional manager said it would free up people to go out and address the issue of fly-tipping.
‘But the closed Mondays has clearly become the biggest issue. You can have a budget for CCTV and drones, but to open the civic amenity sites on a Monday is one obvious way of tackling the problem of illegal dumping. We have to give people the option, especially after the weekend.’
Cllr Mary Hegarty (FG) agreed saying: ‘I have had a lot of representations, especially during the summer, when there are a lot of holidaymakers visiting West Cork.
‘The civic amenity sites should be open for longer and people should be more conscious of what they are doing – they need to separate their waste and recycle properly.’
Cllr Joe Carroll (FF) said: ‘It is common sense to open on a Monday. But places like Skibbereen – which has nowhere for a person to legally dispose of a bag of domestic refuse – are suffering most.
‘We were told that the upgraded bring site would be open in the first or second week of January 2018, but that hasn’t happened. Clearly, we need to do more.’
