Today Cabinet approved the Circular Economy Bill which covers many proposed measures including giving powers to Local Authorities to tackle fly tipping.
I welcome the Bill as it should, over time, give Laois and Offaly County Councils powers to use CCTV and other technologies to tackle illegal dumping and littering.
I receive many queries and complaints to my office in respect of illegal dumping and, as of now, the hands of Local Authorities, who are responsible for waste management and enforcement, have been tied in how they deal with such offences. I welcome this new Bill which will allow for the utilisation of CCTV to identify and target offenders while at the same time ensuring that there are robust data protection safeguards in place.
While only a minority of citizens illegally dump or burn their waste, the impact of litter and fly-tipped waste on the environment, and often our most beautiful locations, is a blight on our community.
The new proposed legislation is part of the Circular Economy Bill 2022, announced today by Green Party Minister Ossian Smyth, which includes a suite of measures that will put into law many of the commitments the Government has made in the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy and last year’s Whole-of-Government Circular Economy Strategy.
This is a momentous step towards our transition to a circular economy. We can no longer operate under the ‘take, make and waste’ model. We don’t have the natural resources to sustain such a model and our environment simply cannot cope with the amount of waste it produces. We must rethink the way we consume the goods and materials we use every day.
Read the full Press Release on gov.ie
ENDS