One of the main issues that’s often raised with me is illegal dumping. It’s a blight on our streets and has been getting worse in recent years. Here are two things that happened in February 2024 that will help us tackle this:
- Councils can now use CCTV to police dumping blackspots
- For years, councils could not tackle illegal dumping with CCTV. After the introduction of GDPR, people succesfully argued that the use of CCTV by councils breached their privacy. Last week, new regulations were put in place to give councils legal basis to use CCTV to deter and prosecute people who dump their waste when their use is deemed necessary and proportionate. I am hoping that Dublin City Council will get this up and running later this year.
- The new deposit return scheme will penalise people who don’t recycle properly
- Cans and bottles make up a significant portion of waste that’s illegally dumped or casually littered. As of 1 February 2024, a small deposit is automatically charged on plastic bottles and cans at purchase and refunded when returned empty at any participating store. If they’re not returned, the purchaser will lose their deposit. This should immediately decrease the number of plastic bottles and cans that are dumped or littered.
Both of these measures were introduced by my Green Party colleague Minister Ossian Smyth.