Sligo the first county to tackle illegal dumping by using Eircodes

Andy From Sligo · 23-03-2018 12:35am #1

im not overly sure how this is going to work ... or even if it is going to work.

plus on the side note of onus of holding the public responsible to not using an illegal or unregistered collector to dispose of their rubbish - well why does the burden have to lie on the public? - they have to really check over all the paperwork when white van man says "I can take that rubbish away for ya mate"

why are not the council putting 'stings' in place to get these illegal and unregistered off the road? - I have seen other councils doing it . They go undercover and phone up people in the paper or from adverts on social media or ad in shop widow and then say "I need some rubbish collecting" or "I need something dumping" then your man comes around and they ask to see the paperwork - no paperwork then they are done on the spot.

If other councils can do this why cant Sligo CoCo - why are they holding householder responsible for rogue fly tippers etc

Plus the tipped rubbish is an eyesore for visitors to the area ... yes it is. But the first area to be tacked is a bog up in Tubbercurry , now I dont know how many visitors to the area go to a bog up in tubbercurry, but I can tell you I took the old Collooney to Sligo route last week and the amount of rubbish in the verges in colllooney underneath the railway bridge and on the way to ballisodare and then on joining the new (haha still call it new after all this time) N4 with rubbish strewn there in the verges and central reservation would be more of an eyesore to visitors for the area I should imagine.

on those roads, seemed to be an awful lot of fast food takeaway waste (those yellow plastic boxes a burger comes in) and cans and other rubbish - I am just predicting people must just be eating/driving and then just toss it out of the window after they are finished with it. Now i think it looked like to me its quite an ongoing problem there - why is this not being tackled first? -

The eircode solution is not going to stop all that, I dont know what will . Maybe a few hidden cameras photographing the numberplates of the offenders maybe? - maybe a levvy put on the fast food takeaway's seeing as a lot of the rubbish could be caused from their waste maybe? - I dont know, but it all needs tackling .. and tidying up! - I think the more it is left strewn oout on the verges and not cleaned up then the mentality (and bad i know) with some people is "well everyone else is littering here , so I might as well do the same"

Anyway here is the piece on OceanFm today about the eircode thing:

sligo-the-first-county-to-tackle-illegal-dumping-by-using-eircodes/

Kristopherus · 23-03-2018 12:42am

So have they homed in on your Eircode?

Victor · 23-03-2018 12:43am

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

why are they holding householder responsible for rogue fly tippers etc

Because householders have responsibilities as well?

Andy From Sligo · 23-03-2018 12:46am

Kristopherus wrote: »

So have they homed in on your Eircode?

not yet but it sounds like they will be doing very soon - I wonder how they are going to do it? - are they going to send a letter to all households asking where you dispose of your rubbish or how you dispose of it?

either I am dense (most probably am) but it sounds like a logistical nightmare to me - maybe good in theory but I dont know about practice

Black Bart · 24-03-2018 8:40am

Domestic recycling will have to be looked at again, householders have to wash dry and pay waste disposal companies to remove recycling, waste disposal companies come along and sell it on for profit!!

Mint Sauce · 24-03-2018 9:03am

Not sure if I am reading this right, but litter wardens and councils have being doing this for years. Find a flytipped bag of rubbish, see if any utility bills, or addressed envelops, and hey presto, address where rubbish came from. An Eircode just makes you easier to find now.

Victor · 24-03-2018 2:15pm

Black Bart wrote: »

householders have to wash dry ... recycling,

When you're finished washing the dishes, just rinse the recyclable materials and leave them drip dry.

Mint Sauce · 24-03-2018 3:57pm

Victor wrote: »

When you're finished washing the dishes, just rinse the recyclable materials and leave them drip dry.

What about takeaway boxes?

Andy From Sligo · 25-03-2018 6:36pm

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Not sure if I am reading this right, but litter wardens and councils have being doing this for years. Find a flytipped bag of rubbish, see if any utility bills, or addressed envelops, and hey presto, address where rubbish came from. An Eircode just makes you easier to find now.

no, your reading it wrong

I think (well I think) they are going to check everyon'es eircode in Sligo and question you how you are disposing of your rubbish in a george orwell kinda way - dont think they will be searching through the bin bags for the eircode on stuff

Black Bart · 29-03-2018 8:39am

I have no issue with doing that Victor, but we have the pleasure of paying the waste disposal companies in order for them to sell it on for profit.

Victor · 29-03-2018 9:12am

Black Bart wrote: »

I have no issue with doing that Victor, but we have the pleasure of paying the waste disposal companies in order for them to sell it on for profit.

They're businesses. They exist to make a profit.

Would you like to be sorting recycling waste and find last month's dinner in it?

TallGlass · 29-03-2018 9:18am

Mint Sauce wrote: »

What about takeaway boxes?

What type ? If they are paper they go into the brown bin.

If you can get the free from contamination they go in green if foil or plastic.

To be perfectly honest. I don't see the big deal with washing it makes no real sense. The stuff is going to be sorted and then if it's paper turned to a mash, if it's plastic melted down and turned to pellets, if it's steel melted down and turned into a solid. All these steps remove contamination anyway, and if you watch YouTube videos, majority of the stuff I watched, the stuff is crushed and washed anyway?

TallGlass · 29-03-2018 9:25am

Victor wrote: »

They're businesses. They exist to make a profit.

Would you like to be sorting recycling waste and find last month's dinner in it?

Machines sort the waste. Humans sort at the start of the process at a basic level, and there is a high level of PPE.

And to be honest, I am fairly certain, black bin rubbish is sorted also. Although it may vary from operator to operator, but there is no reason black bin rubbish cannot be. In fact, I would give it a few more years for the tech sorting plants to go full scale they'll start doing that.

The vast majority of any product can be recycled for something, no reason why we send so much to landfill, should be seen as a last resort.

Black Bart · 29-03-2018 10:12am

First of all Victor last months dinner should not be in amongst this weeks recycling, I'm talking about bringing my recycling (not general waste) down to Greenstar on a Saturday morning, I will have it cleaned and dry and separated before I put it into separate skips, I then have to pay the guy at the gate for the pleasure in doing so, then his boss makes a profit on this by selling it on.

Andy From Sligo · 29-03-2018 1:55pm

Victor wrote: »

They're businesses. They exist to make a profit.

Would you like to be sorting recycling waste and find last month's dinner in it?

i feel something not ethical right about profit being made on recycling .. feel even more uncomfortable that the general public have to pay so much that the recycling companies make profit out of it at the end of the day ... even if they are a business and the ethos is that all companies must make profit - why is our rubbish not removed in a non-profit organisation kind of way?

Victor · 29-03-2018 9:02pm

So, if it is so lucrative:

Form your own waste management company.

Or

Form your own waste management coop.

Andy From Sligo · 29-03-2018 10:15pm

maybe waste disposal companies should be unprofitable state / council owned rather than run by companies who make a business and profit out of it?

Fann Linn · 29-03-2018 10:19pm

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

im not overly sure how this is going to work ... or even if it is going to work.

plus on the side note of onus of holding the public responsible to not using an illegal or unregistered collector to dispose of their rubbish - well why does the burden have to lie on the public? - they have to really check over all the paperwork when white van man says "I can take that rubbish away for ya mate"

why are not the council putting 'stings' in place to get these illegal and unregistered off the road? - I have seen other councils doing it . They go undercover and phone up people in the paper or from adverts on social media or ad in shop widow and then say "I need some rubbish collecting" or "I need something dumping" then your man comes around and they ask to see the paperwork - no paperwork then they are done on the spot.

If other councils can do this why cant Sligo CoCo - why are they holding householder responsible for rogue fly tippers etc

Plus the tipped rubbish is an eyesore for visitors to the area ... yes it is. But the first area to be tacked is a bog up in Tubbercurry , now I dont know how many visitors to the area go to a bog up in tubbercurry, but I can tell you I took the old Collooney to Sligo route last week and the amount of rubbish in the verges in colllooney underneath the railway bridge and on the way to ballisodare and then on joining the new (haha still call it new after all this time) N4 with rubbish strewn there in the verges and central reservation would be more of an eyesore to visitors for the area I should imagine.

on those roads, seemed to be an awful lot of fast food takeaway waste (those yellow plastic boxes a burger comes in) and cans and other rubbish - I am just predicting people must just be eating/driving and then just toss it out of the window after they are finished with it. Now i think it looked like to me its quite an ongoing problem there - why is this not being tackled first? -

The eircode solution is not going to stop all that, I dont know what will . Maybe a few hidden cameras photographing the numberplates of the offenders maybe? - maybe a levvy put on the fast food takeaway's seeing as a lot of the rubbish could be caused from their waste maybe? - I dont know, but it all needs tackling .. and tidying up! - I think the more it is left strewn oout on the verges and not cleaned up then the mentality (and bad i know) with some people is "well everyone else is littering here , so I might as well do the same"

Anyway here is the piece on OceanFm today about the eircode thing:

sligo-the-first-county-to-tackle-illegal-dumping-by-using-eircodes/

The houses were always there. Why did they need eircodes before they stsrted chasing people?

For Forks Sake · 29-03-2018 10:35pm

Fann Linn wrote: »

The houses were always there. Why did they need eircodes before they stsrted chasing people?

Because, especially in rural areas you could have 20/30 houses in the one townland with no discernible identifier, the Eircode is linked to the individual property, thus making it easier to identify those dumping illegally.

Andy From Sligo · 29-03-2018 10:37pm

Fann Linn wrote: »

The houses were always there. Why did they need eircodes before they stsrted chasing people?

.... to further justify the use of eircodes?

Fann Linn · 29-03-2018 10:39pm

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Because, especially in rural areas you could have 20/30 houses in the one townland with no discernible identifier, the Eircode is linked to the individual property, thus making it easier to identify those dumping illegally.

And what about apartments? And what if people refuse to acknowledge the letters? What sanctions can the council bring to bear?

dollylama · 29-03-2018 10:51pm

I read it that every householder will have to register with a licensed waste collector, providing your eircode in the process. If you take waste to a council disposal site, you have to give your eircode to the guy at the gate!

I assume that the council will then compile a list of eircodes that aren't registered with any waste collector and the knocks on the door will follow. This will be a recurring process I imagine

I'll post a link to the story if I find it again. It was a propoganda piece by the council

http://www.sligococo.ie/FeaturedContent/PilotProject-EircodesInvestigation/

Andy From Sligo · 29-03-2018 11:02pm

dollylama wrote: »

I read it that every householder will have to register with a licensed waste collector, providing your eircode in the process. If you take waste to a council disposal site, you have to give your eircode to the guy at the gate!

I assume that the council will then compile a list of eircodes that aren't registered with any waste collector and the knocks on the door will follow. This will be a recurring process I imagine

I'll post a link to the story if I find it again. It was a propoganda piece by the council

http://www.sligococo.ie/FeaturedContent/PilotProject-EircodesInvestigation/

a bit like the TV licence then (or how the TV licence system is supposed to work) ... very soon you could get the line "if you have a house you need to register, prove how you dispose of your rubbish!" ...

Andy From Sligo · 29-03-2018 11:05pm

and if it proves that rubbish dumped on bog roads or road verges and streams or places of beauty that the rubbish is dumped from people who dont have an eircode? - or who are visitors to the area? or not resident in Sligo .. what then? - how is that going to be tackled?

Fann Linn · 29-03-2018 11:08pm

dollylama wrote: »

I read it that every householder will have to register with a licensed waste collector, providing your eircode in the process. If you take waste to a council disposal site, you have to give your eircode to the guy at the gate!

I assume that the council will then compile a list of eircodes that aren't registered with any waste collector and the knocks on the door will follow. This will be a recurring process I imagine

I'll post a link to the story if I find it again. It was a propoganda piece by the council

http://www.sligococo.ie/FeaturedContent/PilotProject-EircodesInvestigation/

What about data protection? Why should a service provider give details of its customers to a third party?

mobil 222 · 29-03-2018 11:15pm

Black Bart wrote: »

First of all Victor last months dinner should not be in amongst this weeks recycling, I'm talking about bringing my recycling (not general waste) down to Greenstar on a Saturday morning, I will have it cleaned and dry and separated before I put it into separate skips, I then have to pay the guy at the gate for the pleasure in doing so, then his boss makes a profit on this by selling it on.

Concerning bringing your recycling to Finisklin just make sure you get a receipt.
From what I here the council will be checking with greenstar etc on who does have their recycling collected.

I for one use the recycling facility every Month so I will be one of those checked because i don't have it collected.
I will probably be asked what I do with it and if I have proof of using the faciiity
So you can see how important your receipt will be.

Fann Linn · 29-03-2018 11:27pm

mobil 222 wrote: »

Concerning bringing your recycling to Finisklin just make sure you get a receipt.
From what I here the council will be checking with greenstar etc on who does have their recycling collected.

I for one use the recycling facility every Month so I will be one of those checked because i don't have it collected.
I will probably be asked what I do with it and if I have proof of using the faciiity
So you can see how important your receipt will be.

I can understand the need for a TV licence and having the proof, but wherevis the law that says you need a receipt from a landfill?

dingding · 29-03-2018 11:27pm

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

maybe waste disposal companies should be unprofitable state / council owned rather than run by companies who make a business and profit out of it?

https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/greenstar-in-receivership-sparking-fears-for-800-jobs-26890183.html

Might be better now but was not profitable in the past.

dingding · 29-03-2018 11:29pm

Fann Linn wrote: »

dollylama wrote: »

I read it that every householder will have to register with a licensed waste collector, providing your eircode in the process. If you take waste to a council disposal site, you have to give your eircode to the guy at the gate!

I assume that the council will then compile a list of eircodes that aren't registered with any waste collector and the knocks on the door will follow. This will be a recurring process I imagine

I'll post a link to the story if I find it again. It was a propoganda piece by the council

http://www.sligococo.ie/FeaturedContent/PilotProject-EircodesInvestigation/

What about data protection? Why should a service provider give details of its customers to a third party?

If there is a statutory basis for the request. There is a lot of data sharing between agencies.

dingding · 29-03-2018 11:32pm

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

and if it proves that rubbish dumped on bog roads or road verges and streams or places of beauty that the rubbish is dumped from people who dont have an eircode? - or who are visitors to the area? or not resident in Sligo .. what then? - how is that going to be tackled?

Every residence has a unique eircode. By discovering if each residence has either reciepts for disposal or a contract with a refuse company, then the eircodes that have neither can be targeted. It ideutifies houses that don't have an arrangement to dispose of refuse. It is a step in the right direction. It wont prevent snack boxes littering the countryside, however it should cut back on the dumping of domestic refuse.

Fann Linn · 29-03-2018 11:46pm

dingding wrote: »

If there is a statutory basis for the request. There is a lot of data sharing between agencies.

Is there a statutory basis however? Denis Naughten announced a lot of capital expenditure but I don't recall him introducing legislation. He could start by increasing the litter fine from €150 which has been in place in 1997.

Andy From Sligo · 29-03-2018 11:54pm

what can you do with litter fines though - in reality it could (or it might even already) go to court and the lawyer says "judge, my client is on low income and cannot afford the fine and would like to pay 5euro a month until the fine is repaid in full" and then thats it , no, I think there needs more deterrent than a fine. in those cases fines dont work.

and of course you have to catch them in the act if there is illegal dumping or I still reckon even so on this eircode thing is everyone going to be affected or are there going to be a few caught and "made and example of" whilst others get away with it?

Andy From Sligo · 30-03-2018 12:01am

dingding wrote: »

Every residence has a unique eircode. ....

I dont want to get in any trouble here , or proportion any blame or suggest anything ... but no, not every residence has an eircode

Fann Linn · 30-03-2018 12:11am

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

what can you do with litter fines though - in reality it could (or it might even already) go to court and the lawyer says "judge, my client is on low income and cannot afford the fine and would like to pay 5euro a month until the fine is repaid in full" and then thats it , no, I think there needs more deterrent than a fine. in those cases fines dont work.

and of course you have to catch them in the act if there is illegal dumping or I still reckon even so on this eircode thing is everyone going to be affected or are there going to be a few caught and "made and example of" whilst others get away with it?

Can't see it working myself. Just a waste of postage. What about the vacant house in Gurteen, or the Polish lad in Tubbercurry, or the traveller or Romanian in Sligo town and everybody else who refuses or just forgets to fill in the paperwork? What will the council do, send the litter warden around, or serve a summons on an eircode?

Andy From Sligo · 30-03-2018 12:19am

Fann Linn wrote: »

Can't see it working myself. Just a waste of postage. What about the vacant house in Gurteen, or the Polish lad in Tubbercurry, or the traveller or Romanian in Sligo town and everybody else who refuses or just forgets to fill in the paperwork? What will the council do, send the litter warden around, or serve a summons on an eircode?

cannot see it working myself as well , and can see it being scrapped after a while of in operation

I am wondering if maybe its a bit of spin with it in the newspapers and on the radio to maybe put the wind up people - some people be like "ooh better make sure of disposing our rubbish now because the coco is checking all eircodes on in what way get rid of your rubbish"

dingding · 30-03-2018 9:38am

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

dingding wrote: »

Every residence has a unique eircode. ....

I dont want to get in any trouble here , or proportion any blame or suggest anything ... but no, not every residence has an eircode

The intention is that every residence has a unique code, Unlike the UK where the code references a number of properties, Blocks of apartments have individual codes for each apartment. It is more to identify property than to facilitate the postal services. There may be cases where they have got this wrong.

For Forks Sake · 30-03-2018 10:54am

Fann Linn wrote: »

And what about apartments? And what if people refuse to acknowledge the letters? What sanctions can the council bring to bear?

Apartments have numbers.

dingding · 30-03-2018 11:10am

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Apartments have numbers.

And eircodes

Andy From Sligo · 30-03-2018 11:28am

Mobile residential property has no number and no eircode...

Victor · 30-03-2018 12:14pm

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

Mobile residential property has no number and no eircode...

But halting sites do have Eircodes.

For Forks Sake · 30-03-2018 12:22pm

dingding wrote: »

And eircodes

The block would have a code, each apartment a number.

This isn't rocket science.

Fann Linn · 30-03-2018 12:35pm

For Forks Sake wrote: »

The block would have a code, each apartment a number.

This isn't rocket science.

Not rocket science at all. But where is the legislation for the coco to garner this info. What are the penalties if I refuse to acknowledge this request? What if I'm on a 'pay as you go' system, do I just forward my most recent receipt and thats me covered?

So so many questions and no answers. Probably better off just putting their letter in my recycling bin with the rest of the junk mail.

Andy From Sligo · 30-03-2018 12:55pm

Victor wrote: »

But halting sites do have Eircodes.

do they , i didnt know that. - mind you that covers people living on a halting site then .

also if its only going to be a system introduced in Sligo at the moment who do you stop other people coming in from out of the area and tipping the rubbish?

dingding · 30-03-2018 3:47pm

Www.eircode.ie

F91 DR4R

Andy From Sligo · 30-03-2018 4:52pm

dingding wrote: »

Www.eircode.ie

F91 DR4R

who's eircode is that?

For Forks Sake · 30-03-2018 5:24pm

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

who's eircode is that?

Our wheeled bretherens 'temporary' car park in town I'm guessing.

Edit. Yup.

Andy From Sligo · 30-03-2018 5:27pm

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Our wheeled bretherens 'temporary' car park in town I'm guessing.

Edit. Yup.

.. if they move their residential home on wheels 300 yards up the road does the eircode change then I am wondering? haha

For Forks Sake · 30-03-2018 5:27pm

Victor wrote: »

But halting sites do have Eircodes.

Out of interest, I put the Ballyfree halting site into the Eircode site, not only does the site have a eircode, but each individual bay has it's own code.

Andy From Sligo · 30-03-2018 5:29pm

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Out of interest, I put the Ballyfree halting site into the Eircode site, not only does the site have a eircode, but each individual bay has it's own code.

ooh very modren

Coffee Fulled Runner · 01-04-2018 5:03pm

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

. But the first area to be tacked is a bog up in Tubbercurry , now I dont know how many visitors to the area go to a bog up in tubbercurry,

This area in question is probably one of the most littered places in the entire country. I never seen any place as bad. Its not just the odd cup of coffee or takeaway wrappers it's tons of black bags.

KatyMac · 01-04-2018 7:54pm

Brought recycling to Greenstar/Panda last week and was given a sheet requesting phone number and eircode and name/address etc. I have no intention of filling in this sheet. I rocked up to the site with my segregated, clean waste and paid for the disposal thereof. There is no way they need my information. I keep my receipts and will give short shrift to anyone coming looking for where I dispose of my rubbish.
Have a garden compost heap and a couple of dogs so don't need a brown bin and have approximately 2-3 bags of total rubbish that I cannot recycle in the year which I bring to Greenstar maybe twice a year - pay by weight and keep the receipt safe.

Sligo the first county to tackle illegal dumping by using Eircodes

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