Ballyhaunis locals ‘frustrated and angry’ with illegal dumping

Locals in Ballyhaunis have called on Mayo County Council to help combat the issue of illegal dumping in the area.

Illegal dumping at bottle and clothing banks has been an ongoing issue in the Mayo town for several years.

Local man, William Nestor, told The Mayo News that the issue has been ‘getting worse as time goes on’.

“Most townspeople are aware that the county council removes this rubbish on a weekly basis. However, within a matter of hours and days, more dumping occurs,” he said.

Mr Nestor said he is not the first to complain about this, and that regular complaints have been made from lots of organisations in Ballyhaunis, ‘be it from the Chamber of Commerce, from the Tidy Towns committee in Ballyhaunis’, and by local residents to the environmental office, the Mayo County Council. 

Despite the council coming and clearing the mess, Mr Nestor described the situation as ‘putting a band-aid on, and it keeps coming off’. He said the council needs to communicate with the community, and ‘stop telling us what they can't do, we’re not interested in hearing what they can't do’.

_{Rubbish dumped at the Ballyhaunis banks today}

Local election candidate for the area, Alma Gallagher, said: “The Tidy Towns have a good relationship with the environmental section within Mayo County Council, and they have been responsive and have come out and disposed of large items.”

However, Mr Nestor said even when the rubbish is taken away, ‘people come along overnight and dump again’.

It is believed that the issue with prosecuting illegal dumpers relates to general data protection regulation (GDPR). 

Mr Nestor suggested that a public consultation take place between Ballyhaunis residents and Mayo County Council. 

“The bigger picture solution for Ballyhaunis is that the bottle banks that exist could be taken away completely and be put in a more prominent public place, because if you go into other towns, your bottle banks are usually get smack bang in the middle of town for everybody to see, so you actually can't get away with dumping. 

“Where they are now is in a top car park on a backstreet, so it's quite easy to just whiz in and dump your rubbish and go again, whereas if the bottle banks were in the centre of the town in broad view of everyone the chances of dumping would be less,” he added.

The local man said the area surrounding the banks where the dumping is happening seems to be growing, and that rodent infestation is becoming a consequence.

“That car park, where the banks are, is surrounded by houses and estates and families, so obviously you're attracting rats and rodents, it's absolutely disgusting. 

“I'm really frustrated and angry that nobody is shouting about this any more, everyone is browbeaten and tired in Ballyhaunis of just getting nowhere with this. We've got an election coming up and people are going around asking for votes, but promising you're going to do something - this is a situation that can be fixed, I believe it can be fixed today, tomorrow, this week, why have we been waiting for six years?” he said.

_{The Ballyhaunis bottle and clothes banks}

Fine Gael local election candidate, Alma Gallagher, said the issue is also ‘quite seasonal in terms of peak times’. 

“What I'm proposing is along the clothes bank there are cameras, they are operational and there have previously been convictions in terms of illegal dumping because of the cameras that are in operation there. 

“There are two entrance points into that site where the cameras aren't catching, if you like. So one is the low wall, and the other is the steps coming up from the other car park, so what I would like to see happen is restricted access on site. Either raising the level of the wall or putting some kind of fence there to restrict the access and those that would be caught on the camera then will be convicted. 

“The second issue that I'd like to highlight as well is that we have a lot of rental properties in Ballyhaunis and I suppose human nature, being what it is, some are not paying for waste disposal. It could be a worthwhile local initiative to investigate the feasibility, if landlords could come together and ensure that tenants have evidence there that they are paying for the disposal of their rubbish, and it hopefully would deter people from illegally dumping,” continued the Fine Gael candidate. 

Ms Nestor admitted the banks ‘do fill up very quickly, particularly the clothes banks’, he said it is not an excuse to ‘drive up with your rubbish’ and leave it there.

“You don't just leave them on the ground and walk away,” said Mr Nestor.

Acknowledging the ‘conscious effort’ within the community to keep their area clean, Ms Gallagher said the Good Friday Tidy Town's clean-up had ‘a fantastic turnout’. 

“We're supportive of the Tidings Towns committee here in Ballyhaunis as well to make sure that they're resourced to do everything that is possible, but it needs to be a collective action within the community. 

“I work closely with the Ballyhaunis Tidy Towns committee, and they're doing fantastic work, and they're trying their best, it's not easy,” she concluded.

Mayo County Council have been contacted for comment.