The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton T.D. today (Thursday the 28th of November) launched a new interactive map on mywaste.ie, identifying all legal waste collection companies, in further efforts to tackle illegal dumping.
Minister Bruton said,
“Illegal dumpers are a scourge on communities across the country. The new map being launched today on my waste.ie will ensure householders from Donegal to Cork, Dublin to Galway, are able to check that the waste company collecting their waste has the appropriate authorisation to do so.”
The Climate Action Plan, published in June of this year, is the government’s plan to give Irish people a cleaner, safer and more sustainable future. Managing our resources correctly is a key part of the Plan and we are taking actions across the board to ensure we manage our waste better.
Approximately €3million funding has gone into local community measures to tackle illegal dumping under the Anti-Dumping Initiative this year – a 50% increase on last year. This is in addition to the €7.4m annual enforcement grant, which supports the recruitment and retention of 150 local authority waste enforcement personnel across the country. The interactive map being launched today will further help tackle the problem.
Speaking at the Irish Waste Management Conference in Croke Park today Thursday 28th November 2019, Leo Duffy, Programme Manager, National Waste Collection Permit Office said,
“There are currently as many as 2,433 permitted waste collectors working across the State. By law, all waste collectors in Ireland must have a valid waste collection permit from the NWCPO to operate legally.”
This ensures that household waste is disposed of correctly. It ensures the content of the recycling bin can be returned for recycling and the contents of the brown bin are properly processed. By using a permitted waste collector, householders can be assured their general waste is being processed properly, safely and legally.
Leo Duffy continued:
“Essentially, by using the services of a permitted waste collector you are assured that your waste will be handled in a responsible and environmentally secure manner.”
Kevin Swift, Waste Plan Coordinator with the Connacht-Ulster Waste Management Office (CURWMO) outlined how this year the three Regional Waste Enforcement offices spent €2,736,920 on the Anti-Dumping Initiative.
“Some of the waste discovered in the clean-up belonged to householders who believed that their waste was being disposed of by an authorised waste collector. With the new service on mywaste.ie, householders can assure themselves that their waste collector has an up- to- date permit, and also see with just one click of a button, all permitted waste management providers in their area.
Mywaste.ie is a government of Ireland initiative, launched last year and is Ireland’s official guide to waste management. Mywaste.ie encourages householders to get quotes from a number of collectors operating in their area to find the service which best suits their needs. This new interactive map will also help to make this process much easier, by ensuring all local waste management services are listed together.
“This new function means all the information citizens need to know about waste management is together on one site,” Kevin added.