Madam, – As a tourism business in the Dublin Mountains, I am keenly aware of the blatant littering of the area and also the lack of effective action by the local authorities.
We have a daily coach service bringing tourists from the city centre to our establishment for a cultural evening and originally it was intended to stop off at the “viewing point” at the top of Kilakee Road, with easily the best views of Dublin city and county.
However, the only view they would get would be of the filthy littering habit of some of our “citizens”. We participate in volunteer clean-ups of the mountains, but in reality we are letting the Government off the hook: this country could be cleaner than Switzerland if there were credible leadership to utilise our hundreds of thousands of able-bodied unemployed.
No matter how bad the economy, does the country have to look like a dump as well? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Stephen O’Byrnes (March 31st) pointed out the blanket of litter from the motorway section of the N11 at Shankill to the turn-off for Ashford. I am mounting a one-woman campaign with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and the county councillors, whom I am informed recently voted an increase in the fees at Ballyogan recycling unit of 50 per cent. The fees at this unit for getting rid of household waste went from €20 to €30, in one increase. This is in the middle of the worst recession the country has ever experienced.
There are many like myself who to keep costs down bring our household waste to Ballyogan every six weeks or so. The cost of putting out the black bin for the binmen is now a sizeable annual amount.
If we want to put an end to roadside dumping, then Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council will need to consider reducing the cost of using its recycling unit, not increasing it. There are mindless, dirty citizens who throw their waste materials on the roads, but among these are some, I am sure, who cannot afford the new high cost at Ballyogan and some who are angry at being hit again by arrogant mindless price hikes.
Remember also, people are forbidden to burn their household waste in their back gardens, if they are reported (and there is an e-mail link for this), they can receive a fine of up to €3,000. – Yours, etc,