CCTV will be used to identify those who dump rubbish after eating from fast food outlets in Derry following a huge increase in the amount of litter being dumped on local roadsides.
The move emerged as part of a new push to crack down on the amount of litter and illegal dumping that is currently taking place at roadsides in Derry, including main arterial routes through the city.
It comes after a recent study carried out with the local council area showed a ‘correlation’ between the ‘types of litter, its location on rural and trunk roads, its source and the proximity of shops and fast food outlets.’
The new measures were discussed at a recent meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Environment and Regeneration Committee, which heard that the amount of litter being dumped on local roads has resulted in an increase in cleaning patrols.
Speaking at the meeting, Conor Canning, Head of Environment with council, said that the increase in dumping has resulted in some roads that were litter-picked twice per year now require to be cleaned once per month.
He added that council was now seeking ‘address these issues at the source’ and have developed what he described as ‘intervention actions to target motorists and individuals who are responsible for littering’.
“This would greatly reduce the necessity for street cleaning operations in this difficult environment,” he added.
“Such interventions would include for example, information on display boards at fast food outlets and shops explaining the law in relation to littering.”
He then told the meeting that in regards to fast food outlets, ‘you could actually pick a point down the road’ from where the food was purchased to where the rubbish was dumped.
Mr Canning added that in addition to warning signage, a further intervention would be the ‘use of CCTV to identify those who engage in these activities’.
He also warned that council will ‘enforcement action against them when we find evidence’, adding that they will also work with fast food outlets to ‘encourage proper and responsible litter management’.
The SDLP’s Gus Hastings described the measures as ‘timely’, while the Ulster Unionist councillor Derek Hussey added that ‘enforcement action’ was needed.
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