Inishowen is cleaning up

The people of Inishowen and Donegal County Council have been commended for their efforts to keep the peninsula litter free. At the recent meeting of the Inishowen Electoral Area Committee held in Carndonagh Public Offices on Thursday last, Con McLaughlin, area engineer of Water and Environment Section of Donegal County Council revealed they had recently conducted two “level three” clean ups at two illegal dump sites in the peninsula. The work at Sliabh Sneacht and Ballymacarthur, Greencastle – which is in close proximity to the water supply – followed large levels of dumping, with the latter costing 4,500 euro to clean up. Usually, only one level three clean up is conducted each year. Mr McLaughlin also confirmed 35 people had been issued with litter fines so far this year while one person was given a Section 55 notice for clear dumping. He also stated the Carndonagh Civic Amenity Site was “one of the most popular in the county” with over 21 tonnes of televisions and monitors, 18.46 tonnes of fridge freezers, 0.46 tonnes of fluorescent tubes, over 29 tonnes of cookers, tumble dryers, washing machines etc, 55.696 tonnes of mixed small appliances, over 25 tonnes of paper, over 32 tonnes of cardboard and over 16 tonnes of plastic just some of the items taken for recycling there in 2009. A full articulated lorry of waste electrical and electronic equipment was collected at the site almost every month and over 2.5 tonnes of domestic and car batteries were received. These were all free of charge. The news was met with delight by councillors who said it was “a good news story” and also praised those who were “doing a great job” keeping their area clean and free from rubbish. They also urged anyone who witnessed illegal dumping to report it to County Council and their litter warden. Cllr Martin Farren said: “Congratulations to the Council and the whole team, I was down in Greencastle and they did a magnificent job.” Cllr Rena Donaghey, a member of Buncrana Tidy Towns agreed. She said: “It’s really magnificent work you’re doing the facts and figures are there. It really is a low percentage of people that are dumping and I want to congratulate the huge numbers of people in Burt, Bridgend, Clonmany and various other parts of Inishowen who are doing a great job all together and are being co-assisted by Donegal County Council and Buncrana Town Council. Councillor Mickey Doherty added his praise for the local community “who help out on the clean ups.” Cllr Padraig MacLochlainn condemned the “small minority of people who throw rubbish from cars and the even smaller minority who drive up hills. “The good news is the larger majority step up to the plate and like to commend publicly the councillors leading that in their own areas.” He added: “A lot of people in Inishowen display incredible civic leadership.” Councillor Bernard McGuinness said they should be “encouraging people to report them” to which Mr McLaughlin replied they would ask the community to do so, adding the Council also use ‘covert cameras’ at various sites around the peninsula. These have proved so successful they are set to be rolled out in the rest of the county. Councillor John Ryan said people should take responsibility for their local area. He said: “This is a good news story, There’s a misconception that it’s the Council’s responsibility to keep an area clean but its our own responsibility.” Councillor Charlie McConalogue enquired as to whether people who witness illegal dumping could report it to the Gardai and if this would lead to prosecution. Mr McLaughlin replied they could if they were “willing to testify” but “if someone witnesses something we’d ask them to contact the litter warden” who would then “look for the linkage” to the identity of the culprit. He also confirmed that a free collection of household wastes is to take place in Carndonagh between 9.00am and 12.0 0noon at the Public Services Centre on Saturday, June 12.