It's all about changing attitudes

Dick Warner, environmentalist and broadcaster

"We have a particularly bad litter problem in this country and the reason given is usually that we are a sloppy nation which doesn't dispose of its litter properly. I believe, however, that the problem lies in the difficulty of disposing of litter properly and the responsibility lies with the Department of the Environment and the local authorities - particularly in rural Ireland.

"I live in Co Kildare and there is a huge problem of illegal dumping of things like fridges, mattresses and washing machines in bogs and woods. The problem is that to dump such things people have to find a trailer and drive to a dump where they are charged to dispose of their rubbish. It would take a half a day to do this. In Germany, there is a system by which the local authorities bring around a skip to all the towns and villages on the first Friday of each month and the public can dump any large objects in these skips free of charge.

Fionnuala Kilfeather, National Parents' Council (primary)

"We have a big litter problem in Ireland because people regard litter as things to throw away. There is no proper collection of rubbish for recycling. We need to have a rubbish collection which separates rubbish into different types of recyclable material so that we have very little rubbish left at the end of the day. We also need a policy to re-use things such as bottles and shopping bags. In lots of countries, people bring their own bags with them when they go shopping. "Children are very interested in the environment and issues like litter are addressed in the Social, Personal and Health Education programme. But, there needs to be a better system of rubbish management before this interest can develop its full potential."

Tom Cavanagh, chairman of Irish Business Against Litter

"People have been complaining about litter since time began and I believe the litter problem is getting worse although the battle is being waged through the employment of more street cleaners. "Employing people to pick up litter is, however, a waste of tax payers' money. There is only one answer to the litter problem which is the enforcement of the litter legislation. The legislation states that people who own property are responsible for keeping the public areas around their property clean and concert and sporting event organisers are responsible for keeping clean the public areas before, during and after such events. In that case, almost everyone is breaking the law. If these people were fined for breaking the litter laws, this would deal with 90 per cent of the problem.

"The other 10 per cent of the problem requires a serious commitment from county and urban managers. If county managers are fully convinced that litter is a serious problem, then the message will filter down the line."

Mark Mortell, chairman of Bord Failte

"Tourism produces £2 billion in foreign earnings annually. Some of the things which attract people to Ireland are the friendliness of Irish people and the cleanliness of our environment. Therefore, when tourists are exposed to people being careless about litter and dumping rubbish on a large scale, they are horrified. By such carelessness, we are running the risk of destroying the economic golden egg which tourism provides. It is our responsibility as individuals to protect the golden egg that we all benefit from by committing ourselves to maintaining a clean environment."

Eamonn Quinn, marketing director of Superquinn and founder member of Irish Business Against Litter.

"It's a little bit like drink driving and speeding, no one admits to doing it but everybody does it. We have to change people's attitudes to throwing litter. To do this, we as individuals, have to draw attention to the fact that we don't accept it when we see it happening.

"From a business point of view, there is a strong link between an improved economy and a litter-free environment. Companies are more likely to set up factories in places that are clean and litter-free."

John Stafford, Lord Mayor of Dublin

"We need to prosecute a few people for littering, as an example. We have to insist that all take-away shops have litter bins outside their premises which are emptied regularly. If their litter bins are full, these people are - through neglect - littering the streets. We also need to educate people not to put out their rubbish the night before it will be collected. This is particularly relevant in areas where there are a lot of people passing by at night. We need to encourage people to report incidents of littering done on a regular basis by phoning Dublin City Corporation."