Eur1.4m set aside for Kerry litter

Kerry County Council has set aside €1.4 million to collect litter from beaches, public parks and tourist spots this year.

Kerry County Council has set aside €1.4 million to collect litter from beaches, public parks and tourist spots this year.

Senior officials have called for a change in the public apathy towards litter, and for a national and local advertising "assault" on the issue.

A campaign last April by An Taisce in conjunction with the council and local community groups saw 60 tonnes of litter hand-picked from beaches, parks, roadsides and public areas in Kerry.

However, while the discarded rubbish continued to be a problem, the number of on-the-spot fines has doubled. Last year hundreds of on-the-spot fines, amounting to almost €20,000, were collected. Most were for litter dumped from cars, and in follow-up operations on people identified from receipts and letters found in discarded rubbish.

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The minimum on-the-spot fine is €125. Traffic wardens are now empowered to serve litter fines.