Spy in the sky - Council to send up drones to nab illegal dumpers

PAUL MURPHY
Meath County Council is taking to the air in its efforts to clamp down on illegal dumping by using drones to catch perpetrators in the act.
The spy in the sky technology will be introduced by the council subject to staff training and aim at reducing the scourge of flytipping and illegal dumping - an actrivity said to be costing in excess of €2.4m per year.

 

Addressing counciollors this week Meath County Council chief executive Jackie Maguire said: 'Satellite imaging and aerial photography have already been used as part of the national anti-dumping initiative but the council also intends taking advantage of enhanced imagery provided by drones and subject to the staff being trained and the necessary licences being in place.'
The council said it is increasingly reliant on 'smart' technology for the monitoring and surveillance of dumping blackspots. Last year alone, 600 incidents of illegal dumping were caught on CCTV.

Ms Maguire was asked by Sinn Fein Cllr Eimear Ferguson to give the number of large illegal dump sites of interest to the council; the accessibility of these sites to the council or the Environmental Protection Agency; if the Gardai were involved in investigating illegal dumping; and how the national anti-dumping initiative using smart technology would be implemented in the county.
Ms Maguire said that the cost of remediation of illegal dumping sites dictated which court had jurisdiction in hearing cases where statutory notices requiring remediation were not complied with - district, circuit or high court.

 

The council started enforcement proceedings in 62 cases in 2016 and while thorough investigations were still going on in many cases, due to the high levels of proof required in illegal dumping cases, none was initially regarded as of such significance that would involve the high court. The council is, however, involved in four high court cases from previous years where illegal dumping took place or where there were serious compliance issues associated with a waste facility permit. Two more cases are the subject of civil high court proceedings.
'The Waste Management Acts provide the statutory backing for local authorities to go on sites where illegal dumoping is thought to have taken place. Where access is prevented or where it is considered that the personal safety of the investigating officers is at risk then the support of the Gardai can be called on', the chief executive said.

 

While the Gardai do carry out investigations in respect of the illegal dumping of waste, and especially where such activity forms part of organised crime, in the vast majority of cases they rely on the local authorities to initiate the proceedings, power for which is provided for in the Waste Management Acts.
The Waste Enforcement Regional Authority has, as one of the national waste priorities for 2017, targeted the problem of illegal dumping, and their programme of works provides for coordinated action involving multi agencies, including Gardai.

 

The chief executive said that the council uses smart technology for the monitoring and surveillance of dumping blackspots. 'With over 400 incidents of dumping caught on CCTV in 2016, there is a number of considerations to be taken into account with regard to the use of CCTV, including value for money, availability of a power supply, privacy and data necessary licences being in place.'
The council, in partnership with local community groups, submitted three applications for funding under the new national anti-dumping initiative.

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