A warning has been issued to rural dwellers and the general public to dispose of waste responsibly or face the possibility of prosecution, by Waterford City and County Council.
The warning follows a clean-up operation launched by the local authority to remove rubbish from an EU-designated Special Protection Area (SPA) site at a cliff close to the village of Annestown.
In a statement on social media today, Thursday, September 26, the local authority said:
“Waterford City and County Council yesterday, with the assistance of trained working at heights contractors, cleaned up the extensive amount of rubbish dumped over the cliff at Benvoy, Annestown.
Image source: Waterford Council
“The area where the dumping took place is within the UNESCO Global Geopark and is a part of the Mid-Waterford coast Special Protection Area,” the council said.
The authority noted that, from the extent of the rubbish dumped, “it is obvious that the waste didn’t come from one house”.
This is most likely the actions of an illegal ‘man in the van’ operator. Both the person who dumped the waste and the people who gave it to them are responsible for this and both face prosecution.
“The only way to ensure that the waste gets disposed of responsibly is to use an authorised waste collector,” Waterford Council warned.
“Always check your waste collectors’ permit number and get a receipt for your waste.”