Private cleaning company

Hal3000

Is there a need for a private company / army of street cleaners in Ireland ? Seems most councils just can't cope with our rubbish problems anymore. Especially in the suburbs of most towns. I get depressed now seeing our country becoming dirtier by the day. I also don't understand why we don't have a plastic bottle return system, and why unemployed can't be out cleaning the streets ?

Why in Ireland do we seem to make simple solutions such complex problems?

Alf Veedersane

If they had the level of resources needed for that, would it not be better spending on an army of litter wardens to try to top the problem at source? Providing a cleaning solution means you never address the littering problem

Atlantic Dawn

€500 on the spot fines and actual litter policing would help.

Hal3000

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

€500 on the spot fines and actual litter policing would help.

I'd love to see signs also especially on our Motorways. They'd simply tell people to stop throwing your ****e out the window

Wardens don't always solve the issue. Fines are notoriously hard to enforce. I believe if the place was cleaner people would litter less. When we get the place to an acceptable standard maybe when we could hire more wardens and implement a robust penalty process for littering

What we need to do now is just clean the place up.

_Brian

We need a bottle returns scheme.

Actual implementation of fines for fly tipping. It’s near impossible to get a fine implemented. I took photos of two cars fly tipping and contacted the council, it took six months and repeated phone calls by me to get fines issued.

We shouldn’t fall into the fallacy that it’ssome one else’s responsibility to clear up rubbish. We need to look at policies to stop it being littered. Otherwise it’s a race to try and keep up with those dumping rubbish.

Lastly, and I do work directly in this field. People on work schemes aren’t slaves. They’re not there to do the dirty work of the lazy population, were spending hefty tax money on these schemes to somehow up skill these people not demean them into some sort of sub humans where their task is to clean up after dirty bastards who care nothing about the environment.

Hal3000

_Brian wrote: »

We need a bottle returns scheme.

Actual implementation of fines for fly tipping. It’s near impossible to get a fine implemented. I took photos of two cars fly tipping and contacted the council, it took six months and repeated phone calls by me to get fines issued.

We shouldn’t fall into the fallacy that it’ssome one else’s responsibility to clear up rubbish. We need to look at policies to stop it being littered. Otherwise it’s a race to try and keep up with those dumping rubbish.

Lastly, and I do work directly in this field. People on work schemes aren’t slaves. They’re not there to do the dirty work of the lazy population, were spending hefty tax money on these schemes to somehow up skill these people not demean them into some sort of sub humans where their task is to clean up after dirty bastards who care nothing about the environment.

I never mentioned people on work schemes. If someone is engaging with employment services and trying to get back into work then so be it, but if they aren't then they should be out cleaning the streets.

Alf Veedersane

Hal3000 wrote: »

I believe if the place was cleaner people would litter less.

You have more faith in people than I do. Most litterers are oblivious to cleanliness or otherwise. They throw their sh*t on the ground because it's more convenient than looking for a bin.

Hal3000

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

You have more faith in people than I do. Most litterers are oblivious to cleanliness or otherwise. They throw their sh*t on the ground because it's more convenient than looking for a bin.

It's not just litterers though. Wheelie bins blowing over and councils not bothering to clean anywhere outside of city centres / tourist areas means our country is becoming a wash with plastic and wrappers everywhere. You can't walk 2 minutes without seeing rubbish. It's clear the councils cannot deal with the issue any longer so why not look to privatize street sanitation? I don't think I have ever seen a council worker EVER cleaning a street in my suburbs ? Only people that do that are community groups.

Alf Veedersane

It is mostly litterers. And more wheelie bins are knocked over by morons than are blown over, I'd venture.

I have no issue with more cleaning but I would rather see resources directed towards addressing the problem rather than continuously tidy up. The small resources they do have are usually used going around emptying public bins (that are often abused by people putting small bags of their rubbish from home in).

Hal3000

I suppose volunteers are again left to fill the void while the councils sit in their vans.

https://bullislandactiongroup.ie/2019/04/07/volunteer-in-dublin/

Nukem

Hal3000 wrote: »

Seems most councils just can't cope with our rubbish problems anymore.

In Cork City there must be over 30 personnel walking around with wheelie bins picking up litter. Its not very efficient considering mechanized road sweepers and the likes, but again that's only covering part of the issue.

I have walked across Cork City centre recently and there is simply not enough bins available. It seems bizarre, but its like the councils are not putting them out due to illegal dumping and ongoing maintenance.

Privatizing the responsibility would again only get us so far. A major rethink needs to happen.

Hal3000

Nukem wrote: »

In Cork City there must be over 30 personnel walking around with wheelie bins picking up litter. Its not very efficient considering mechanized road sweepers and the likes, but again that's only covering part of the issue.

I have walked across Cork City centre recently and there is simply not enough bins available. It seems bizarre, but its like the councils are not putting them out due to illegal dumping and ongoing maintenance.

Privatizing the responsibility would again only get us so far. A major rethink needs to happen.

They can cope, they're just not bothered. In all my 30 odd years living in a Dublin suburb, I have never once seen a street cleaner who isn't a local volunteer. DCC have never been active against litter.

Nukem

Just for information

Annually, local authorities spend a staggering €86 million on street cleansing and a further €9 million on litter warden service, according to recent Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment figures.

Litter wardens are working hard to get the public to act more responsibly and reduce the cost of street cleansing. However, the figures show little improvement since 2010, with the headline numbers the highest they have ever been. Fines for littering offences nationally amounted to €866,000, made up largely of fixed penalty notices of €150 each.

Tackling everything from dog fouling to dumping household waste - it’s a tough job getting the public to change their behaviour. Litter wardens' jobs are changing with the times and, more frequently, they are dealing with fly tipped household waste caused as an unwanted side-effect of pay by weight and household waste charging.

Environmental Training Solutions (ETS) are providing dedicated training for litter wardens helping them tackle this huge problem.

The Litter Warden Training Programme has been developed by ETS to meet the training and certification needs of Litter Wardens and supporting administrative staff. It identifies key responsibilities arising from the Litter Pollution Act and gives a broad understanding of the knowledge and skills required.

For further details - Click http://enviro-solutions.com/dailynews2/040419-ets-litter-wardens.html