New law allowing CCTV footage to catch dumpers welcomed
A new law to give Laois County Council powers to use their CCTV anti-dumping cameras again is on the way.
The Cabinet has approved the landmark new Circular Economy Bill 2022, announced this Wednesday, March 30 by Green Party Minister Ossain Smyth.
It will allow the use of GDPR compliant CCTV while protecting the privacy of citizens.
Councils have had their hands tied in using footage in legal cases since 2020, after the Data Commissioner stated that it required a new law.
The new Bill includes many other measures that put into law many commitments the Government has made in the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy and last year’s Whole-of-Government Circular Economy Strategy.
Green Party Minister of State, Senator Pippa Hackett has welcomed the news that Laois and Offaly County Councils will soon be given powers to use CCTV and other technologies to tackle illegal dumping and littering.
“I receive many queries and complaints to my office in respect of illegal dumping and, up to now, the hands of Local Authorities, who are responsible for waste management and enforcement, have been tied in how they deal with such offences. I welcome this new law will allow for the utilisation of CCTV to identify and target offenders while at the same time ensuring that there are robust data protection safeguards in place” Minister Hackett said.
“While only a minority of citizens illegally dump or burn their waste, the impact of litter and fly-tipped waste on the environment, and often our most beautiful locations, is a blight on our community”
The Circular Economy Bill 2022 will aim to phase out disposable coffee cups, coal mining, enforce commercial waste segregation and encourage recycling waste instead of dumping it through levies.
“This is a momentous step towards our transition to a circular economy. We can no longer operate under the ‘take, make and waste’ model. We don’t have the natural resources to sustain such a model and our environment simply cannot cope with the amount of waste it produces. We must rethink the way we consume the goods and materials we use every day,” Minister Hackett said.
The Bill also seeks to make Ireland the first country in the world to eliminate the use of disposable coffee cups, nearly half a million of which are currently sent to landfill or incineration every day.
This process will begin with a ban over the coming months on the use of disposable coffee cups for sit-in customers in cafés and restaurants, followed by the introduction of a small charge on disposable cups for takeaway coffees that can be avoided completely by using a keep cup. This will operate in the same way as the existing Plastic Bag Levy.