50% increase in funding for measures to prevent & respond to illegal dumping – Applications now open now for €3m Fund
The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton T.D. today (Monday the 1st of April) announced funding of €3million to the Anti-Dumping Initiative to support communities around the country to tackle illegal dumping.
Making the announcement, the Minister said, “Illegal dumpers are poking their finger in the eye of communities all over the country. We can only stamp it out if we work together. This money will step up the chances of catching the offenders and will provide help to those who want to do the right thing.
“Innovation, surveillance using drones, special collections for awkward items like mattresses, spreading awareness among young people and recognizing the work of volunteers can all pay a role.
“We will be putting a special emphasis on targeting blackspots. Since 2017, the ADI programme has removed some 5,000 tonnes of illegal waste from some of the country’s most notorious fly tipping black-spots. In the vast majority of cases, once a community takes action in a particular area, re-offending becomes highly unlikely. Nearly half of the funding being announced today will go towards tackling black-spots.”
Funding to the programme is increasing to €3million this year, a 50% increase on last year. This is in addition to the €7.4m annual enforcement grant, which supports the recruitment and retention of 150 local authority waste enforcement personnel across the country.
Funding is available for:
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Applications are open today and will close on the 30th of April 2019. Interested applicants can find more information here – https://www.dccae.gov.ie/en-ie/environment/topics/waste/enforcement/anti-dumping-initiative
The Anti-Dumping Initiative
The Programme for Government contains a specific commitment to work with local authorities to tackle the problem of illegal dumping and to develop effective deterrents to discourage people from engaging in this anti-social behaviour.
The overall aim is to reduce incidents of illegal dumping nationally by providing funding for projects tackling the problem including the provision of support for monitoring and surveillance of dumping blackspots and the development of an integrated and effective approach to dealing with this issue using a collaborative approach with local authorities, communities and other state agencies.
In 2017, the Department provided funding of €1.3 million for the initiative which resulted in the successful delivery of over 200 projects across all 31 local authority areas and served to put the topic of illegal dumping on the agenda for communities across the country.
In 2018, €2 million was made available for a programme which placed an increased emphasis on all actors who facilitate the unauthorised movement and disposal of waste. Over 200 projects received funding, the scope of which included:
- clean-up operations – removing illegal waste from across the country;
- household bulky waste initiatives – mattress/couch amnesties
- awareness campaigns – social media campaigns & radio;
- preventative measures – installation of signage and fencing;
- surveillance operations – CCTV, drone and trail surveillance;
- SMART enforcement equipment and resources for waste enforcement officers.
€3 million is being made available under this year’s programme.
