Illegal Dumping

Sir, - I read with bafflement that hauliers are protesting at the closure of illegal landfills in Wicklow to which they bring…

Sir, - I read with bafflement that hauliers are protesting at the closure of illegal landfills in Wicklow to which they bring their loads. The hauliers' justification - that they are a legal, tax-paying business and are being unfairly penalised by the loss of their work - makes no sense. It might be legal to run a dump truck, but not to tip waste at an unlicensed site. Amazing.

Are these people expecting public support? Is their protest going to elicit cries of "Less waste regulation!" and "More mercury in our drinking water, please!"

That so many people depend on this dangerous practice is a serious concern. And these men seem to view failure to license the disposal of waste as something as trivial as not having a dog licence.

While people may easily criticise these hauliers and their contaminated trade, will they also criticise themselves and their elected leaders for our waste-crazy way of life?

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As with the protest over domestic waste and where to put it, no one seems to connect our effluents with our affluence. - Yours, etc.,

R. Herriott, Schallstrasse, Koln, Germany.