Filthy disgusting litter all over the place

dnme · 11-10-2014 7:54pm #1

I have been noticing more and more the amounts of rubbish being left all over the place.

This evening I left my home in Gort, and travelled to an area called the Blackwater just outside the town for a walk with my dog. In a 4km round trip just on the outskirts of Gort over a period of about half an hour, I photographed the images below. It got so bad that I actually ran out of sufficient daylight to keep taking photos. I went back to the house, grabbed a bin liner and went back and picked up some of the smaller stuff but each time I stopped the car and started to pick up rubbish, one piece just led to another, and to another until you realise that the hedge rows and just inundated with OUR FILTH! I'm so sick of it. I'm seething and shaking with anger. I just needed to do something tonight. Going back out with the bin liner was more for my own sanity than anything. I just needed to do some bloody thing.

Earlier in the summer, I took the Coillte path in the same area through the forest, down to the shores of Lough Cutra. The sight that greeted me there was as follows...

2 Tents, wet bedding, about 50 empty cans, many bottles some broken, two fires not long gone out. Vomit, excrement, Condoms, Food all over the place. Plastic, paper etc. It was literally a bomb sight. I spent an hour screaming and swearing as I picked up all the filth and stuffed in into one of the tents. I actually filled the tent, literally. I left the tent there and went back into town to report the incident to the guards. They did not want to know. I was disturbing the local Ban Garda on what was her nice quiet Sunday afternoon, she literally made it very clear that she couldn't give a toss. I told her I could show her precisely where I had located the rubbish if she could show me a local map to which she replied “we don’t have any maps” !!!!!

I emailed Coillte. They responded that week. They sent a van out and collected the rubbish. It was a shocking sickening mess left in an area that is so so stunningly beautiful and precious. It made me sick to my stomach, and actually I rarely go there anymore, apart from this evening. I can’t be at peace there now, it’s no longer the place it once was to me.

I need to do something. I am so sick of driving by bags of rubbish dumped and bursting open on our country roads. I am so sick of hiking in the country side and seeing our filth in the middle of the wilderness. I am so sick of farmers filth all over the country roads, silage wrapping all over the place etc. There are areas of Gort town in around some of the estates that look like bomb sites with rubbish just built up over years. It’s disturbing. All those people live with that, walk by it every day and just don’t care. Some of them add to it.

I am so sick of the way we are just sh1tting more and more on our lanes and fields, our hedgerows, our towns, our communities, our country. I am so fcuking sick and tired and angry!!

I need to do something. I'm thinking about setting up a volunteer force, local community to start with, maybe a web site where people can post geo-tagged or regular photos. Maybe volunteers can then deal with reported littering incidents. Maybe it could be a movement that might liaise with local authorities, cops, other agencies with a view to sharing information. I dunno, am I naive? Can this work? Do enough people care ?

dnme · 11-10-2014 7:54pm

h2005 · 11-10-2014 7:56pm

dnme wrote: »

reserved for more images

You could just add the images to your first post.

dnme · 11-10-2014 7:58pm

h2005 wrote: »

You could just add the images to your first post.

I did, there is a limit of 5 images per post.

Woodville56 · 11-10-2014 10:42pm

Agreeing with above posters , local lakeshores and woodlands on my patch here in the midlands similarly littered from unauthorised campsites, drinking parties and other waste products. I'm just beginning to wonder if the Coillte "Open Forests" policy is such a good idea in the absence of proper wardening / access management. It's quite annoying and saddening to see such valuable recreational amenities despoiled and abused in this way by a small careless minority of those who frequent and value these areas.

hoody · 12-10-2014 11:41am

You should also report this through FixYourStreet as well, I was sceptical before using it but reported on a few potholes once and they were miraculously fixed within a few days.

dnme · 12-10-2014 11:45am

hoody wrote: »

You should also report this through FixYourStreet as well, I was sceptical before using it but reported on a few potholes once and they were miraculously fixed within a few days.

Thanks for that. I didn't know about it. I have submitted a report about the two sites where green bags were left.

I have reported the mattress to Coillte as its on their patch. I also will report the open green bags that have been there for months to the local authority and remind them that this post now exists.

Vinnie L · 12-10-2014 11:48am

No Irish Government has ever taken the problem of littering seriously, and the fight against litter begins by educating children and adult citizens in very basic ethics.

dnme · 12-10-2014 11:53am

Vinnie L wrote: »

No Irish Government has ever taken the problem of littering seriously, and the fight against litter begins by educating children and adult citizens in very basic ethics.

Vinnie, I'm advocating that we act for ourselves rather than rely on politicians. I think it needs to be a joint effort. WE - YES WE !!!! are responsible for all this filth.

If every person picked up one piece of rubbish every day, can you imagine the difference!

Vinnie L · 12-10-2014 12:03pm

dnme wrote: »

Vinnie, I'm advocating that we act for ourselves rather than rely on politicians. I think it needs to be a joint effort. WE - YES WE !!!! are responsible for all this filth.

If every person picked up one piece of rubbish every day, can you imagine the difference!

That's not a long term solution to anything, and in the long term is a pointless exercise unless its followed up by education in ethics, substantial deterrents and enforcement of same.

Once a week, every week, I go out and collect every bit of the rubbish on my road as everyone else drives by. I've being doing this for years, it makes no difference. More and more rubbish is being dumped. Can you imagine all the wasted manhours in life and your taxes, constantly picking up others peoples rubbish for them ? Yes a local clean up now and again is a good thing, but Litterers simply laugh and enjoy the idea of the likes of me running around picking up their rubbish for them.

Vinnie L · 12-10-2014 12:08pm

dnme wrote: »

Vinnie, I'm advocating that we act for ourselves rather than rely on politicians. I think it needs to be a joint effort. WE - YES WE !!!! are responsible for all this filth.

If every person picked up one piece of rubbish every day, can you imagine the difference!

The causes need to be treated, not the symptoms.

That's not a long term solution to anything, and in the long term is a pointless exercise unless its followed up by education in ethics, substantial deterrents and enforcement of same.

If you think a civilised society can function without governance, and politicians should be allowed to get away with dereliction of their duty and incompetence by their citizens, you've another think coming.

Once a week, every week, I go out and collect every bit of the rubbish on my road as everyone else drives by. I've being doing this for years, it makes no difference. More and more rubbish is being dumped. Can you imagine all the wasted manhours in life and your taxes, constantly picking up others peoples rubbish for them ? Yes a local clean up now and again is a good thing, but Litterers simply laugh and enjoy the idea of the likes of me running around picking up their rubbish for them.

Albert Einstein was correct, the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

dnme · 12-10-2014 12:25pm

Vinnie L wrote: »

The causes need to be treated, not the symptoms.

That's not a long term solution to anything, and in the long term is a pointless exercise unless its followed up by education in ethics, substantial deterrents and enforcement of same.

If you think a civilised society can function without governance, and politicians should be allowed to get away with dereliction of their duty and incompetence by their citizens, you've another think coming.

Once a week, every week, I go out and collect every bit of the rubbish on my road as everyone else drives by. I've being doing this for years, it makes no difference. More and more rubbish is being dumped. Can you imagine all the wasted manhours in life and your taxes, constantly picking up others peoples rubbish for them ? Yes a local clean up now and again is a good thing, but Litterers simply laugh and enjoy the idea of the likes of me running around picking up their rubbish for them.

Albert Einstein was correct, the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

I agree with a lot of what you're saying. Education and installing values is a key. I've no doubt. I'd be interested in exploring that further for sure.

You going out and picking up rubbish every week DOES make a difference. Firstly it makes a difference to you. Secondly it makes a difference to nature, thirdly it makes a difference to your local environment. And I'm willing to bet that a at least a handful of people who see you, are very impressed and may even emulate you if only once or twice, and I can tell you this for an absolute fact - it's made a difference to me!. God bless you for your efforts.

The liter is OUR responsibility. I want to do something.

fartyarse · 12-10-2014 12:32pm

dnme wrote: »

I have been noticing more and more the amounts of rubbish being left all over the place.

This evening I left my home in Gort, and travelled to an area called the Blackwater just outside the town for a walk with my dog. In a 4km round trip just on the outskirts of Gort over a period of about half an hour, I photographed the images below. It got so bad that I actually ran out of sufficient daylight to keep taking photos. I went back to the house, grabbed a bin liner and went back and picked up some of the smaller stuff but each time I stopped the car and started to pick up rubbish, one piece just led to another, and to another until you realise that the hedge rows and just inundated with OUR FILTH! I'm so sick of it. I'm seething and shaking with anger. I just needed to do something tonight. Going back out with the bin liner was more for my own sanity than anything. I just needed to do some bloody thing.

Earlier in the summer, I took the Coillte path in the same area through the forest, down to the shores of Lough Cutra. The sight that greeted me there was as follows...

2 Tents, wet bedding, about 50 empty cans, many bottles some broken, two fires not long gone out. Vomit, excrement, Condoms, Food all over the place. Plastic, paper etc. It was literally a bomb sight. I spent an hour screaming and swearing as I picked up all the filth and stuffed in into one of the tents. I actually filled the tent, literally. I left the tent there and went back into town to report the incident to the guards. They did not want to know. I was disturbing the local Ban Garda on what was her nice quiet Sunday afternoon, she literally made it very clear that she couldn't give a toss. I told her I could show her precisely where I had located the rubbish if she could show me a local map to which she replied “we don’t have any maps” !!!!!

I emailed Coillte. They responded that week. They sent a van out and collected the rubbish. It was a shocking sickening mess left in an area that is so so stunningly beautiful and precious. It made me sick to my stomach, and actually I rarely go there anymore, apart from this evening. I can’t be at peace there now, it’s no longer the place it once was to me.

I need to do something. I am so sick of driving by bags of rubbish dumped and bursting open on our country roads. I am so sick of hiking in the country side and seeing our filth in the middle of the wilderness. I am so sick of farmers filth all over the country roads, silage wrapping all over the place etc. There are areas of Gort town in around some of the estates that look like bomb sites with rubbish just built up over years. It’s disturbing. All those people live with that, walk by it every day and just don’t care. Some of them add to it.

I am so sick of the way we are just sh1tting more and more on our lanes and fields, our hedgerows, our towns, our communities, our country. I am so fcuking sick and tired and angry!!

I need to do something. I'm thinking about setting up a volunteer force, local community to start with, maybe a web site where people can post geo-tagged or regular photos. Maybe volunteers can then deal with reported littering incidents. Maybe it could be a movement that might liaise with local authorities, cops, other agencies with a view to sharing information. I dunno, am I naive? Can this work? Do enough people care ?

What exactly did you expect your local Garda to do, as a matter of interest? Go out with a bin liner and pick it all up herself?

Vinnie L · 12-10-2014 1:01pm

dnme wrote: »

I agree with a lot of what you're saying. Education and installing values is a key. I've no doubt. I'd be interested in exploring that further for sure.

You going out and picking up rubbish every week DOES make a difference. Firstly it makes a difference to you. Secondly it makes a difference to nature, thirdly it makes a difference to your local environment. And I'm willing to bet that a at least a handful of people who see you, are very impressed and may even emulate you if only once or twice, and I can tell you this for an absolute fact - it's made a difference to me!. God bless you for your efforts.

The liter is OUR responsibility. I want to do something.

Just as long as you're not under the delusion, or worse trying to put other people under the delusion, that continually spending valuable time and money picking up litter for anti social scrotes and scobies, week after week and year after year, is any sort of long term productive solution and use of resources. It's not.

I've no problem with a community cleanup, I've taken part in countless numbers of them over the years. Over the long term, I'm getting sick and tired of this being adopted by government, the legislators, and the authorities who can change this, as the long term solution. It's not. More than ever, the technology is now here to stop these people. It's the same minority of people dumping rubbish over and over and over again, and getting away with it, while laughing at the soft touches that clean it up for them, year in year out.

dnme · 12-10-2014 1:06pm

Vinnie L wrote: »

Just as long as you're not under the delusion, or trying to put other people under the delusion, that continually spending valuable time and money picking up litter for anti social scrotes and scobies, week after week and year after year, is any sort of long term productive solution and use of resources. It's not.

I've no problem with a community cleanup, I've taken part in countless numbers of them over the years. Over the long term, I'm getting sick and tired of this being adopted by government, the legislators, and the authorities who can change this, as the long term solution. It's not. More than ever, the technology is now here to stop these people. It's the same minority of people dumping rubbish over and over and over again, and getting away with it, while laughing at the soft touches that clean it up for them, year in year out.

I think you're being a bit hard on me to be honest. Lets leave it at that and see what others might think. Thanks for your in put though.

Vinnie L · 12-10-2014 1:07pm

dnme wrote: »

I think you're being a bit hard on me to be honest. Lets leave it at that and see what others might think. Thanks for your in put though.

I think you've missed the point entirely if you think its about you.

The people that drop the litter think it's fine to continually drop it and for you to continually clean it up for them for the rest of your days, or seeing your taxes continually wasted running around picking it up for them. They are quite happy and content with that arrangement, and so are the so called Irish powers that be, as I have learned from years of picking up other Irish peoples rubbish and lobbying for change.

Community cleanup - great idea, I'm all for it, then what ? Just let it die there and watch the rubbish pile up again for the next one, and watch again all the wasted repeat hours that could have been spent doing other productive community work ?

Don't leave it at just local clean ups, that should be only the beginining, start lobbying for real change. If enough people did that, and got that into their head, we could then spend our energy and voluntary work helping older people or dozens of other worthy local causes.

dnme · 14-10-2014 7:58pm

Further to the mattress that was dumped on the Coillte forest trail. I was back there tonight and noticed that someone has been back and set fire to it.

We reckon now that it's someone who has been reading this post. Its a sinister act. Can you imagine the toxins that were released by that fire. Also it was a massive fire right at the base of the trees in a forest.

Greaney · 18-10-2014 2:56pm

I've joined my local tidy towns (although I don't always make it to our clean ups) however, they've got a program with transition year students in the secondary schools to do one of the litter pick ups per week. A mate of mine noticed a kid dropping litter one day and her friend saying, 'for crying out loud, we've to pick that up when we do our litter pick, ya pig', so it works.

Alas however, you're right OP, we've been treating this wonderful country of ours like a dump, and then we wonder why we can't drink the water???

TeaBagMania · 07-11-2014 7:43pm

We had a similar problem back in the 70’s. Rubbish collection worked much like Ireland does today, every homeowner was responsible for paying to have their rubbish picked up.

Well, the unscrupulous types found it cheaper to just dump the rubbish along the roadside; it didn’t take long for the county to mandate all homes are provided with rubbish collection. Now all homeowners in the county have a new line on their property tax bill for rubbish disposal

Filthy disgusting litter all over the place

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