TVs, vacuum cleaners and paint cans dumped at Erris beauty spot

TVs, vacuum cleaners and paint cans dumped at Erris beauty spot


Anton McNulty
antonmcnulty@mayonews.ie

Old televisions, a microwave, vacuum cleaners, oil and cans and general waste are among the many items that are being indiscriminately dumped at beauty spots along the Mullet peninsula.
The dumping was photographed at Annagh and Tower Hill near Blacksod, proving that despite numerous anti-dumping campaigns a number of people continue to use the countryside for dumping unwanted products.
Many of the items which appeared along the beaches of Blacksod include fishing nets and buoys which may have been blown in from the sea, but many more include electrical items which were dumped in many of the sand dunes. There is also evidence of waste being burnt along the shore.
A local resident who did not wish to be named told The Mayo News that the problem of littering and dumping along the Mullet peninsula has become particularly bad in recent years.
“People are dumping on the shore and taking their rubbish on tractors and trailers down tracks to the beaches. There is quite a lot of burning usually on Sunday when they feel they are less likely to be reported to the authorities. I would often come across fly-tipping along the shore but it has become more frequent in the last couple of weeks,” the resident lamented, adding that the problem has got worse since the council stopped its waste collection.
“People have a choice to take their rubbish to the amenity centre outside Castlebar but it is a 50-mile one-way journey and people don’t bother. Some people still think it is acceptable to dump their rubbish in bogs and along the shore.”
Mayo County Council encourages the public to report claims of illegal dumping, but without clear evidence of who is committing the dumping prosecutions can be difficult to obtain.
There are only two civic amenity centres in Mayo – at Derrinumera on the Castlebar-Newport Road and Rathroeen on the Killala Road, Ballina – which act as drop-off points for hazardous items of waste, such as old oils, paints, batteries and varnishes. All electrical items are also accepted free for recycling at the civic amenity centres.
At a recent Strategic and Policy Committee Environment meeting, Michael Joyce the co-ordinator of Connacht Waste Management Plan commented that the county was not served well by recycle centres. There was a gap in the market for one in the north west and south east of the county, he said.
Mayo County Council are planning to establish a covered Civic Amenity Centre at Tallagh, Belmullet. It is expected to cost in the region of €900,000.

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