More Dublin residents may be fined for not employing the services of a waste disposal company following the extension of a successful pilot project.
Dublin City Council began pursuing residents who could not provide evidence that their household waste was being professionally disposed of in mid-2014, with litter blackspot areas in the north inner city the initial focus of attention.
The council hoped to reduce the amount of illegal street dumping in the area by handing out on-the-spot fines and pursuing prosecutions for non-compliance.
The project appears to have been a success, with the north inner city no longer classified as a litter blackspot in the latest nationwide rankings published on Monday.
Although exact figures for the number of fines handed out to date are not available, about 55 per cent of households in the area now have a nominated waste disposal company, compared with 20 per cent at the start of the scheme.
Random inspections
Following the success of the pilot scheme, residents in the area of Dublin 8 will now be subject to random inspections over household waste disposal from this year.
Those caught out for non-compliance also face follow-up visits.
Brian Hanney, of Dublin City Council's waste management department, said that the new approach has brought about a noticeable improvement in the streetscape of the areas in question.
Mr Hanney said he recently gave a presentation to representatives from other local authorities who are “very interested” in the approach being taken to the issue across Dublin city.
Clean initiative
The extension of the project comes as Dublin City Council prepares to launch a clean initiative for Easter.
The council will appeal for 10,000 volunteers to devote two hours to cleaning the city centre on Easter Saturday, ahead of the State’s official 1916 commemoration ceremony on O’Connell Street that weekend.
“We’re going to have a website next month where people can register, we’re looking for 10,000 people in this city to come out for two hours on Easter Saturday to help give this city a once-over and help keep its streets nice and clean,” Mr Hanney said.