A NATIONAL freephone and anti-litter website should be set up to help combat the illegal dumping of waste in the countryside, replacing the current system which is not working, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has said.
Its deputy president, Eddie Downey, warned the problem of dumping rubbish in the countryside was getting out of control and farmers were reporting increasing levels of large-scale dumping in fields, woodlands and in ditches along roadsides.
Launching the organisation’s “The countryside is watching” campaign he said local authorities would have to clamp down on persistent offenders who dump in the countryside.
He said threatening landowners with fines of up to €130,000 was unacceptable and farmers and landowners would not tolerate the continuing abuse of their property. Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan must direct local authorities to step up their efforts to tackle people who litter, and review the existing anti-litter legislation.
The IFA and the farm plastic recycling organisation, Irish Farm Film Producers Group (IFFPG), launched the second year of their national anti-litter initiative among their combined membership of more than 120,000 farmers. They reported farmers had recycled more plastic last year than the Government target.
IFFPG’s chairman Michael Slattery said it was delighted to be part of this campaign. Farmers have a proven track record when it comes to working with the environment and last year nearly 20,000 tonnes of farm plastic were recycled with IFFPG by farmers.
Mr Slattery said the campaign would remind users of the countryside to act responsibly and enjoy the countryside and that they must take their rubbish home and discard it correctly.
The IFA has put forward a programme to combat rubbish and the setting up of a national rural spring clean week during which all county council environmental enforcement officers should be available to collect and clear rubbish along roadside verges, once notified.
Rural homes and farmers living on the worst affected roads should be encouraged to assist, by providing free access to landfills and civil amenity sites for the week, according to the IFA.
It says refuse companies should also be encouraged to participate in this clean up.
The programme has urged county councils to establish a network of strategically located skips on the outskirts of all towns and villages, where people can safely dispose of rubbish rather than litter the countryside.
In addition it has said county council environmental enforcement officers must liaise directly with primary and secondary schools, convenience stores, filling stations and community groups to highlight the problem of rural littering and encourage people to take their litter home and dispose of it correctly.
This, campaign, it said must be supported by a major national television, radio and print media campaign to highlight the issue and encourage the responsible disposal of litter.
The programme also called on all county councils to enforce the anti-littering laws effectively and encourage the public to report offenders.
“A national freephone litter reporting line and website should be developed to allow people report incidents of littering.
“This freephone number and website should replace the current 1890 number, which regularly remains unanswered, is not well advertised and action on reported dumping is often slow and ineffective,” said the programme
It called for a customer charter to be agreed, where reports of littering will be acted on and the litter removed by the county councils within 24 hours of notification, and for the setting up of a national litter action taskforce made up of representatives from key interest groups, including IFA and IFFPG to tackle the problem at national level and ensure delivery by the local authorities.