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Farmers are being forced to carry the cost of illegal dumping, despite the incidence and cost of fly-tipping and dumping doubling in some counties.
Counties such as Donegal and Laois saw a two-fold increase in the number of illegal dumping complaints between 2014 and 2018, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.
The number of complaints increased by a third over the same period in both Westmeath and Galway, to 1,244 and 929 respectively.
Altogether, some €15,412,566 was spent by County Councils on illegal dumping and litter management in 2018
The costs associated with illegal dumping have also escalated, with Cavan county council seeing a 56% increase in its budget for illegal dumping and litter management to €929,891 and Mayo County Council a 73% increase to €1,310,298 in 2018.
Altogether, some €15,412,566 was spent by County Councils on illegal dumping and litter management in 2018.
Despite the nationwide spike in spending on illegal dumping, county councils have told the Irish Farmers Journal that under Section 5 of the Waste Management Act, “when waste is on private property, it is the landowner’s responsibility to remove/dispose of it appropriately and pay the relevant costs”.
Incidents of illegal dumping on farmland are investigated by the Environmental Enforcement Officer to detect evidence
Some councils are willing to investigate illegal dumping incidents on farmland, but if an address or some kind of identification cannot be found, then it is the responsibility of the farmer to carry the cost for waste removal.
“Incidents of illegal dumping on farmland are investigated by the Environmental Enforcement Officer to detect evidence. Information is also provided that the responsibility of cleaning lies with the landowner if there is no evidence to identify an offender,” Tipperary County Council said.
Although anecdotal evidence points to an increase in fly-tipping and illegal dumping on farms, councils do not collect farm-specific dumping complaints. This makes it impossible to judge the true scale of the problem.
IFA environment chair Thomas Cooney has urged councils to be more proactive in helping farmers combat fly-tipping and dumping incidents. He highlighted the cost, in terms of farmer time and waste charges, in dealing with dumping.
“We need more people penalised and better enforcement,” he said.
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