IFA has made a submission to the Department of Environment calling for urgent action to tackle the issue of reckless littering in rural areas.
The Association has pointed to the increased dumping of packaging waste generated from online purchases, builders’ rubble and household waste as examples of a growing problem of serial dumping in the countryside.
IFA’s Environment Chairman Paul O’Brien has called for the following five key actions to address this growing issue in rural areas:
- Details of those who receive on-the spot fines on more than two occasions published on local authority websites.
- The regional waste enforcement authorities must ensure that all local authorities have a litter prevention plan in place, which is being implemented.
- All local authorities must publish a list of convicted serial dumpers and seek tougher sentences.
- All retailers, including online, which put waste packing on the market, must be required to fund a recycling programme for the correct management of these materials.
- Change the waste management laws to ensure that reckless dumpers are pursued by local authorities and enforcement agencies, not the farmers whose land is dumped upon.
The Irish Farmers’ Association is seeking a meeting with the Department of Environment in the coming weeks to make progress on these proposals.
IFA is also seeking the completion of the used waste tyre collection service introduced previously by the Department, and a cost-effective recycling service for waste streams generated on farms, such as feed and fertilizer bags.
