July Environment Report

JULY ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT

Litter Fines
From 1st Jan to 31st May 206 Litter Fines were issued in the North West Area.
123 fines were issued to members of the public (mainly for dumping)
83 fines were issued to businesses in the area.

The Litter Wardens are concentrating on black spots and residential areas that have a significant number of non-collections areas due to arrears on their domestic waste accounts.

Graffiti Removal
A new Contractor was appointed in May. To date this year over 2,643 meters of graffiti was removed from 138 locations.
Any incidents of illegal dumping or graffiti can be reported to our Free Phone Litter Hotline 1800 251 500 or direct to the Finglas Area Office on
222 5496 / 222 5400.

Domestic Waste Waivers
There is an on-going problem with dumping of domestic waste due to non-payment/arrears of domestic waste account. A two-way approach between the estate management staff and the public domain enforcement officer to focus on tenants who may be contributing to this problem is being implemented.

The North West Area is processing their own waiver applications for a year now. This process has been very successful and since its introduction we have processed the following:

1039 waiver applications
760 have been granted
279 were returned for additional information.

City Wide it is estimated that over 35,000 people are currently on a waiver. Since January 2010 only the standing charge is been waived for these customers. They now must pay for each bin lift. If this bill is not paid it will result in non collection even though a wavier has been granted.

In addition to this process anybody who had a 2009 waiver granted was automatically granted a 2010 waiver by the Revenue Unit.

If anybody wishes to discuss their Domestic Waste Account they should contact 222 1000.

Public Domain 5/7 Cleansing Crew
Currently the Public Domain Crew consists of 8 men on 5 days out of seven rota system. The crew clean the area on a prioritised basis. This is recorded & monitored by the area office.

Recent retirements & re-deploying staff in existing street cleaning services have had a detrimental effect on the standard of cleanliness in the Area. As a consequence there has been a knock on effect on the amount of litter left by Waste Services operatives for the Public Domain Crew to remove.

Waste Management Services have informed us that our 5/7 crew will be reduced by 2 general operatives. These two men will be re-deployed to the
5/7 crew in the City Centre.
As the crew operate on a pro-rata system this will mean that 5 days a week we will now only have 3 men per shift to cover the entire area.

The effects of this reduction will become visible rapidly on the streets.
We will have to re look at the routes currently being covered & revise them to shorter routes mainly covering high priority areas.
This will result in many streets currently being clean a number of times a week reverting back to being cleaned by Waste Management when possible.

Smart Recycling Facility Jamestown Road
The above recycling facility was investigated by our Waste Enforcement and Environmental Health Departments as a number of complaints were received in relation to a foul smell & many flies in the area. The facility was found to be storing municipal waste on the premises. As they were in breach of their permit regulations they were instructed to remove all the municipal waste & clean the area.

The Waste Facility Permit WFP- DC-09-0014-01 (SMART Recycling Ltd) was amended on 25/06/2010. These amendments included the removal of biodegradable and municipal wastes codes and have limited the waste recovery activities to the recovery and transfer of non hazardous dry recyclable, commercial and industrial, construction and demolition and household wastes only. The waste inspection reports may form part of an enforcement action under the Waste Management Acts 1996-2010, and are therefore sub judice.

Tables and Chairs outside An Cappagh Nua – Barry Road

On Monday 21st June a number of removable tables, chairs and a protective screen were installed outside the Cappagh House Pub on Barry Road. As no permission had been sought or granted for same we requested that Planning Enforcement investigate this matter.

A Section 152 Warning Letter has issued on the Owner/Manager of the Cappagh House, with regard tables, chairs and protective screen being provided. The file has been sent to the Planning Enforcement Officer for the area for investigation.

Summer Planting Scheme
On Saturday the 5th June 83 hanging baskets were erected in Finglas Village and surrounding area out of funds provided by the area office. An additional 9 planters were also installed at main attractions through out the village. This is the fourth successful year of this summer planting scheme. These flowers have received great praise from residents and the business community. This scheme has also encouraged local groups/volunteers to participate in additional environmental works.

Dublin City Council Neighbourhoods Competition Over 100 applications forms were sent to Residents Associations and Schools in the North West Area for the 2010 City Neighbourhoods Competition.
48 applications forms were received back from Residents Associations
7 applications were received from schools.
The competition consists of 18 categories & we have received entries for 17. All applicants were offered support and assistance from the North West Area.

Judging has taken place locally and the results have being forwarded to Waste Management Services for the City wide judging. The local awards ceremony will take place early September. The Dublin ceremony will take place on Thursday 30th September in the Croke Park Conference Centre.

Green Schools Programme
The Environmental Liaison Officer works closely with local schools in assisting with them achieving their green Flag. The Green Schools programme is based on seven steps for schools to follow in order to educate children about environmental issues. Each school can apply every two years to obtain a green flag under a different category for e.g., energy saving, litter prevention or water conservation.

There are 44 schools (primary/secondary) in the North West Area.
Currently 28 schools have registered with the Green Schools Programme.
To date we have 36 green flags.
• 19 schools have achieved their first Green Flag
• 12 schools have achieved their second Green Flag
• 4 schools have achieved their third Green Flag
• 1 school has achieved four Green Flags

Heritage Week 21st – 29th August

Heritage Week is a fantastic opportunity for people to experience and engage with the heritage around them. As a generation we are extremely privileged to have such heritage on our doorsteps, be it our landscapes, buildings, monuments or places of interest. It is a time to appreciate what our heritage does for us. For information on events taking place during Heritage Week log onto www.heritageweek.ie

We have organised another Historical Walk on Wednesday 25th August in support of National Heritage Week in conjunction with the Finglas Historical Society.

The walking tour will again be led by the acclaimed historian, author, artist and tour guide Pat Liddy. Pat has been instrumental in promoting the City’s heritage and history through various involvements with literature, the media and arts.