Your County - Your Waste Help Stop Illegal Dumping!

To help stop illegal the Council is taking part in a National Awareness Campaign entitled - Your County - Your Waste which was recently launched by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD.

Our beautiful landscape is being threatened and degraded by incidents of illegal waste collections and dumping of household and bulky waste, visible along our roadways and fields. In recent months there has been a significant increase in the number of illegal dumping incidents and calls to Fingal County Council regarding households with no bin collection service. The rise in reports is an indication that people want to put a stop to illegal dumping and unauthorised waste management practices.

Householders have a legal obligation to dispose of their waste in a responsible and sustainable manner by having an active bin service with an authorised waste collector or by transferring their waste to an authorised waste facility. Waste Presentation Bye-Laws were recently introduced in Fingal to cater for this and to ensure that both household and commercial wastes are managed effectively. Failure to comply with the Bye Laws can result in an on the spot fine of €75 or prosecution in the District Court if found to be guilty of an offence.

To help stop illegal dumping Fingal County Council is taking part in a National Awareness Campaign entitled - Your County - Your Waste which was recently launched by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD. Under this campaign, Local Authorities are focusing on raising public awareness on the importance of having a bin collection service and how this helps tackle illegal dumping and environmental pollution. We need to highlight the negative aspect of waste build-up in back gardens and associated illegal dumping as a result of households not having a bin collection service in place.  

Speaking about the campaign Mayor of Fingal Cllr David Healy said: “This National Awareness campaign ‘Your County – Your Waste’ is very important.  Illegal dumping is not just unsightly, it also poses risks to wildlife and the environment and this campaign along with enforcement of the byelaws will be of great benefit in combatting this.”

Director of Service David Storey commented: “Waste services continue to operate normally under current Covid restrictions and householders should ensure they only use authorised waste collectors or local recycling centres to dispose of household and bulky waste items. When illegal collectors are used your waste ends up being dumped in laneways and fields causing environmental pollution.”

 Unauthorised waste collectors and householders can be fined up to €5,000 if found guilty of illegal waste activities or dumping waste.

Waste is still a valuable resource if segregated and disposed of correctly. If you have bulky items to dispose of bring them to your local recycling centre (Coolmine Recycling Centre and Estuary Recycling Centre) for recovery/disposal. Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), clothes, paper, plastic bottles, packaging and glass can also be recycled free of charge. 

Mywaste.ie is Ireland’s official guide to managing waste. On the my waste.ie site you will find everything you need to know about how to manage your waste responsibly and efficiently. People are encouraged to browse this site for local waste services, recycling facilities, information on preventing, reusing and disposing of waste.

To report unauthorised waste collectors or dumping incidents please contact [email protected] or Tel: 01 890 5000.