Helicopters aid search for illegal waste in Cork

DUMPING:THE ABSENCE of evidence of illegal dumping is not evidence of an absence of illegal dumping, the head of a specialist environmental enforcement agency said yesterday.

Inspired by the mind-bending rhetoric of former US secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld, Nicholas Bond, director of environment and emergency services at Cork County Council, told the annual environment conference at Dublin's Croke Park that when it came to illegal dumping in Ireland's largest county, "there are known knowns. These are things we know we know."

But he added: "We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say we know there are some things that we do not know." He continued: "There are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don't know we don't know."

Mr Bond, who led a strong campaign against illegal dumping in Cork, said he thought Mr Rumsfeld had used the words in relation to the invasion of Iraq. But in the fight against illegal waste in Cork, they were a useful starting point for an investigation which involved helicopters to spot illegal waste activity on an industrial scale.

Among the "known knowns" were the licensed waste contractors and the licensed waste disposal sites in the county. Even with a staff of just six professional and administrative people and a long coastline, it was possible to determine "known unknowns", such as where a lorry was going if it was not heading towards a licensed disposal facility.

The team knew also that it could inspect the papers of licensed operators and had extensive powers to walk on to any premises, bringing gardaí if necessary, in pursuit of illegal waste activity.

The team prioritised areas where there was a high risk of environmental pollution, such as unregistered carriers, sites where there had been complaints and areas with a history of illegal dumping.

Soon many of the "known unknowns" became "known knowns" and prosecutions issued. But to get close to the locations of "backyard burning" it was decided to hire a helicopter and survey the whole county, a method which was spectacularly successful, Mr Bond said.

Some 127 unauthorised car dumps had been identified.

But Mr Bond acknowledged there remained "unknown unknowns".

These include areas where, from the air, it is easy to discern that land filling has taken place, but it is not clear what has been buried.