Up to 60 black bags full of dirty nappies dumped in Laois river

Some of the waste dumped in a River Barrow tributory

placeholder image — Some of the waste dumped in a River Barrow tributory

Waste dumped a month ago in River Barrow tributory still uncleared

Up to 60 bags of dirty nappies and household waste were dumped in a Laois river a month ago, but it will be weeks more before it can be cleaned out.

Laois Cllr Aisling Moran has described as “scandalous” a large-scale dumping incident at the River Douglas, a tributary of the environmentally protected River Barrow.

Speaking at the July meeting of Laois County Council, she described the incident.

“A huge amount has been fly tipped into the river. Nobody will clean it out. There is no way of getting a machine in. I offered to go in and clean it out myself. I was told I could get into trouble.

“There are 60 black sacks in the river with fish and wildlife tearing them apart,” she said.

Cllr Moran compared the lack of action on the dumping, to the regulations on farmers not to pollute waterways.

“We go into farmers' yards, telling them to fix gutters, when the river is full of dirty nappies. It’s scandalous,” Cllr Moran said.

A contractor hired by Laois County Council has refused to clear out the waste, according to the acting CEO of Laois County Council, Simon Walton.

“We are getting our ecologist to organise to get in and remove it.

“Our contractor who facilitates clean ups won’t do work in water. We are working to identify another. We hope to get in in the next fortnight,” the CEO said.

Cllr Moran said there should be a limited time in which rubbish should be cleared after a complaint is made.

“The water is up to your knees only. It was only a short stretch, now there’s probably a kilometre of it which puts so much extra costs. It could have been cleared in an hour,” she said.

Laois County Council employ three full time litter wardens to keep the county clean and respond to all reported illegal dumping and litter incidences, enforcing the Litter Pollution Act 1997-2003. They investigate cases of illegal dumping, issue litter fines and attend Court.

The public is encouraged to report incidences and/or the witnessing of littering to the freephone confidential hotline on 1800 323230.

Leaving or throwing litter in a public place is an offence with 'on-thespot' fines of €150 to a maximum fine of €3,000 in court. Conviction on indictment for litter offences carries a maximum fine of €130,000, as well as possibly paying the council's costs.

Large-scale dumping penalties on conviction or indictment can run up to €15 million and or a 10 year prison term.