Illegal disposal causing problems

A survey to be published by the Litter Monitoring Body will show that illegal dumping may be caused in part by the introduction of the pay-for-weight charges for domestic refuse.

The report has been prepared by the Department of the Environment and will be published on Monday, July 10th. It highlights that matches, cigarette ends, matchboxes and lighters make up around half of the litter pollution.

Fly-tipping, refuse collection and bring banks increased as causes of litter in rural areas. This is according to the litter survey undertaken by 63 of 90 local authorities.

A comparison of rural and urban areas showed a discrepancy in the extent and severity of litter problems. In total nearly 10 per cent of rural areas were unpolluted compared to only 4 per cent in urban areas.

The survey showed that passing pedestrians made up the biggest causative factor of litter pollution. This made up over 35 per cent across all the local authorities.

In Dublin, there has been an improvement in litter pollution. The percentage of slightly and moderately polluted areas increased while the percentage of significant and polluted areas fell.