Illegal Dumping on Private Property.

Gautama · 22-04-2014 4:10pm #1

I own some land which is bordered by a public roadway. At one point where there are roadside trees there has been illegal dumping of domestic waste for a number of years.
For the first time I have found evidence of who is involved. A receipt from a pharmacy with a name and address. He lives about five miles away.

I want to deter future dumping and am wondering what my options are? Any suggestions?

Pro Hoc Vice · 22-04-2014 4:13pm

Section 3 litter pollution act 1997, bring the evidence to local authority, if they won't act you could always bring a private prosecution.

Gautama · 22-04-2014 6:18pm

I was afraid of an answer like this.
About six months ago I made a report to the local authority after I saw someone dumping in Coillte woodlands. They told me they could do nothing as it happened on private property and suggested I report it to the land owner. Which I did. Note, this incident was entirely different and unrelated to the issue in my original post.
As for the latter suggestion, a private prosecution seems potentially expensive and probably pointless.
Thanks for confirming what I feared.

housetypeb · 22-04-2014 6:38pm

My brother had the same problem,he found some freshly dumped bags in his forest which runs alongside a small county road,looked through them and noticed they were from the local primary school -coloured drawings and so on-and probably were being dumped by the caretaker who lives nearby,his solution was simple and effective-he took the bags and ripped them open and spread the contents all along the road side,then went to the school to complain about the dumping, the caretaker must have got a bollocking as it was all picked up within a day.

Pro Hoc Vice · 22-04-2014 7:07pm

Gautama wrote: »

I was afraid of an answer like this.
About six months ago I made a report to the local authority after I saw someone dumping in Coillte woodlands. They told me they could do nothing as it happened on private property and suggested I report it to the land owner. Which I did. Note, this incident was entirely different and unrelated to the issue in my original post.
As for the latter suggestion, a private prosecution seems potentially expensive and probably pointless.
Thanks for confirming what I feared.

I would say coillte woods are public but in any event here is the section,

"
Prohibitions related to littering.

3.—(1) No person shall deposit any substance or object so as to create litter in a public place or in any place that is visible to any extent from a public place."

And a public place "
“public place” means any place to which the public has access whether as of right or by permission and whether subject to or free of charge;"

Gautama · 22-04-2014 9:27pm

Hmmmm, I'd consider them private though they do have an "open woods policy".

Pro Hoc Vice · 22-04-2014 10:32pm

Gautama wrote: »

Hmmmm, I'd consider them private though they do have an "open woods policy".

If the public have access then under the definition it's a public place.

Gautama · 24-04-2014 9:29pm

I think I'll just put up a sign: "Joe Galway, Dublin Street, Limerick dumps illegally here". Not his real name or address.
Name and shame may be the most satisfying and effective.

cmore123 · 24-04-2014 9:31pm

I would quietly tip it over your boundary onto public land, and tell the authorities.

the_syco · 24-04-2014 9:35pm

Gautama wrote: »

I think I'll just put up a sign: "Joe Galway, Dublin Street, Limerick dumps illegally here". Not his real name or address.
Name and shame may be the most satisfying and effective.

Unless you can prove that he dumped it, and not someone acting on his behalf, you could be looking at some serious fines!

Mech1 · 24-04-2014 9:36pm

Someone put 6 full black bags and a old office chair in my rented skip one evening, I found address in the bags, it was in the next street. Chair filled with his bags was leaning on his front door next morning.

Gautama · 25-04-2014 11:24am

the_syco wrote: »

Unless you can prove that he dumped it, and not someone acting on his behalf, you could be looking at some serious fines!

On what do you base this? Fines for what, and from who?

I had the pleasure (ahem) of hearing the Joe Duffy show a few weeks ago about people that had got fined for illegal dumping. The cases were similar and one of them was along these lines. A family had hired a skip and had it outside their house. The daughter put some of there stuff, including an invoice with her name and address on it, into an old sports holdall and threw it in the skip.
Later some litter was found a kilometre away, including said invoice. For this she was fined. What appears to have happened is that someone fancied the holdall and took it from the skip. Further along they emptied out the contents on the roadside and kept the holdall.
Bottom line is, the owner of the litter is at fault as much as the person that does the dumping. "Possession is nine tenths of the law", and all that.
Pretty stupid of the daughter not to destroy here name and address on the invoice, it has to be said. Whether dumping it legally or otherwise.

Gautama · 25-04-2014 11:26am

Mech1 wrote: »

Someone put 6 full black bags and a old office chair in my rented skip one evening, I found address in the bags, it was in the next street. Chair filled with his bags was leaning on his front door next morning.

I'd considered this too. Alas, though I have the address it's a rural area, i.e. no house number. Would be afraid of returning it to the wrong house. Anyway, the bags are split and it's all a mess. I was fortunate to find the receipt intact.

Oldtree · 25-04-2014 1:04pm

Unless you take ownership of the problem it wont go away. I would not dump the rubbish elsewhere as I would be afraid that you would then be open to prosecution. Coillte is private lands.

I have seen notices posted in local newspapers stating about the dumping where it is and when, and that the owner of the lands (unnamed) is aware of who is doing it and that if they do it again the dumpee would be reported to the garda. It may be an avenue open to you that would frighten them off.

Councils do prosecute when they find invoices etc, but they seem to document the dumped stuff, video and photos and have witnesses for going to court.

From here:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/environment/environmental_protection/litter_law.html
The owner or occupier of property that can be seen from a public place, is also obliged to keep the property free of litter. This means that any outdoor area on your property visible from a public place must be kept free of litter. Failure to keep your property free of litter can result in a fine or prosecution by your local authority.

so it would appear that unless you prosecute the dumpee that you are responsible for the litter, (although it does not say litter from any source)

as it does here:

If you either own or are responsible for a place to which the public has access (i.e, places like a school campus, public park, train or bus station or the precincts of a shopping centre), you are obliged by law to keep the place litter-free, regardless of how the litter got there.

Markcheese · 14-05-2014 3:49pm

I think I'd confirm his address(postman) , and then return his lost propery or most of it.. (preferably in a friends van.) just inside his gate , (i'd photograph that too) and include on each bag a photocopy of the found receipt ... Might be worth contacting a local gard too !
Also put a couple of signs up on your bounds ditch where the dumping is going on ,informing the public of CCTV recording on your land.. You may never put a camera up , but at least you're prepared ..

Illegal Dumping on Private Property.

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