Chapter 15 Waste and Environmental Emissions
I would like something to added in this chapter on continuous ongoing litter picking done by Wicklow County Council. We badly need state employed operatives, trained and equipped to do litter picking.
Local Tidy Towns group consist mainly out of olderlt, semi-retired individuals. It is a health and safety risk for them to do the litter pick. Newly formed group Newtownmountkennedy Community Clean Ups group has younger members, but primary people working full time and with families. It is objectionable by the Council to rely on such groups to do continuous liter picking. We don't mind doing occasional litter pick after a big storm but not every week. There is CE scheme in town with few operatives doing the litter pick in the past, but the scheme has proven to be unreliable and disfunctional, plus local TidyTowns group need to pay to support the scheme in order of 1500Euro annually out of money raised from general public. There is simply NO any other help from the Wicklow County Council in Newtownmountkennedy. Even a road sweeper which comes twice a tear is a donation by a private individual.
We are a town with fastest growing rate of population in Ireland. New developments in town welcomed New residents. Most of us work full time and pay taxes, yet it is being expected from us to pick up litter after others on public streets in our free time.
I propose to hire an operative, which would be state paid, trained, equipped, and that person or two can spend a day in each village. That way they can cover 5 villages nearby weekly, say a day for Newtownmountkennedy, Roundwood, Kilcoole, Newcastle, Kilpedder.
Another way of tackling on street littering is by making local businesses legally responsible for cleaning the footpath in front of their premises, and say 5-10 meters to left and right from the main entrance. That can be done as a local by law, and could be enforced by both Council and Gardai. Right now business are reluctant cleaning in front of their premises, and lots of rubbish is being generated around small food shops and take - aways.
An increased emptying of the public on street rubbish bins is also desirable. Right now bins are being frequently full with locals leaving rubbish around.
