A new waste enforcement unit established by the city council is to step up checkpoints around Dublin to stop illegal dumping.
The unit will have enforcement powers to cover a range of waste management issues, including checkpoints, inspecting permits on the handling and carrying of waste, waste sites, and random checks on waste going abroad.
Checkpoints have already been on operation in various parts of the country on a sporadic basis.
A checkpoint operated by South Dublin Co Council has detected as many as three vehicles a day carrying waste without a permit. Mr Tom Loftus, divisional engineer in waste management with Dublin City Council, said 1½ years ago, council officials and gardaí began operating roadblocks.
It was a time-consuming exercise but because it worked they put forward proposals to the Government. These have since been taken up nationwide.
The council has appointed a head of the new enforcement unit, waste management services, and is to appoint ten field officers.
He expected the unit would be functional from late March.
"Quite a large amount of legislation on waste management is in place and this is the next step.
"In Dublin, the road checkpoints on the main routes will be highly visible and they will be set up with a view to getting the message across," Mr Loftus said.
The road checks always have to be operated with gardaí, he added.
There would also be a lot of work done by the unit behind the scenes.
The checkpoints in south Co Dublin have been operating at different spots.
Yesterday, waste management officers, Mr George Burrowes and Mr John Hinds were at Spawell with gardaí.
Mr Burrowes said: "We have become more high-profile lately. We're spending longer than two hours at a checkpoint.
"Some days we can stop in excess of 100 suspect vehicles. We detect on average three a day in a two-hour stint." He said they pulled all suspect vehicles in. The drivers were checked for waste permits.
If they had illegal waste, they checked on where they were disposing of it and if it was an illegal land-fill.
Around the country, local authorities have set up or are setting up waste management plans.
Wicklow Co Council which has had particular problems with illegal dumping, has carried out road checks and detected a number of illegal dumps.
A spokesman for Limerick City Council said that its officials along with gardaí were contemplating setting up road check operations in the very near future and they were at a very advanced stage. At Galway City Council, a new environment enforcement officer, Ms Mary O'Leary, has just been appointed.
She said they were holding meetings to come up with a working plan for the entire waste management sector.
A Waterford City Council spokesman said there would be plans for road checks in the future and the subject was brought up at a recent meeting but the problem was manpower.
At present, the council was concentrating its waste management enforcement on individual dumpers.
A spokesman for the Department of the Environment said the Protection of the Environment Act 2003 gave greater powers of enforcement to local authorities on waste management issues.