Construction equipment needed to clear illegal dumping site

A shocking instance of the “indiscriminate” illegal dumping which Galway County Council has been fighting was bad enough that construction equipment was needed to deal with the trash.

Last Thursday, April 15 the county council had to use a JCB and a flat bed truck to clear an illegal dumping site at Drinane near Ballygar.

Some of the bulky waste which was recovered at that time included furniture, wall paper, a microwave, a television and a fridge.

Despite these efforts, when the same site was inspected by the Community Warden the very next day, it was discovered that fly tippers had already dumped more garbage there.

The council said that this “hugely frustrating and irresponsible behaviour” diverts resources from elsewhere in order to clean up.

“We would ask members of the public to report any incidents of dumping in their area to Galway County Council’s Environment section on 091-509510 or by email to environment@galwaycoco.ie”.

“Or through the Environmental Protection Agencies reporting app SEE IT, SAY IT at www.epa.ie/enforcement/report/seeit/.”

In a similarly disgusting example of how some people have been treating the countryside in Galway lately, 97 bags of rubbish were gathered during a clean up of illegal dumping at Derryfada Bog near Ballyforan the month before this.

Littering and illegal dumping can result in an on the spot fine of €150, but in more serious cases like these, a conviction at the District Court can result in a fine of up to €5,000 and/or a prison sentence of up to 12 months.