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Post Info TOPIC: Litter and rubbish problem in my country
SeanOChuinn


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Litter and rubbish problem in my country
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Is it my imagination or is the litter situation gotten so much worse right now in Ireland? I see all the posts here and the amazing experiences that people have had in my home, but is it just me or am I the only one that can see how bad our country has become with rubbish everywhere?

I've just returned home after 5 years away and I'm pretty sickened by what we see. My wife is Canadian and she is disgusted by it and I feel ashamed by what I'm seeing. Just in the last 2 months alone we've already had 5 bags of rubbish dumped along our road, some just the other day. The amount of cans, plastic bottles, plastic bags and general crap is sickening, litter everywhere. The pictures attached are one of my walks in a beautiful forested area and the other is what appeared outside our gateway just 2 mornings ago.

I watched a super cool video of Irish people talking about what it means to them to be Irish and there was an accompanying video on you tube...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5gNrs2p__c

...not one person mentions throwing litter on the ground or we never see the crap that I can see everywhere as these beautiful images roll out on the screen. No one mentions the embarrassment or shame to walk our roads and see coke cans, plastic bags and crap strewn everywhere. We try to do our best and pick up what we can as we walk our dogs and are out and about, and the facilities are SO great in my area right now for hikes in woods and mountain areas etc., all these places have had extensive work done to prepare wooden paths and develop them and its so great to see, but when we go and we see the rubbish that is left behind by w**nkers throwing their s**t on the ground. It sickens and saddens me.

Is there anything more could be done? We could do? Are there any groups already in existence that are trying to clean up major towns around the country? I know there is the whole tidy towns around the whole country that do FANTASTIC work but I guess its hard to change ignorance and lack of caring that most people have nowadays.

At this time with national elections just around the corner I know I'll have some questions for these candidates coming begging for my vote.  But unfortunately it may be more down to lack of education and caring by individuals than at a government policy level.  

Anyway, my 2 cents!! 


Thanks all.



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tony2phones


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Contacting your local council rather than a Travel forum might be a slightly more effective approach?

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SeanOChuinn


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We are going to do that. The council is the correct place to go to about this, but surely people need to realise there is a problem and take action to rectify that problem? The issues here though seems to be that not many people seem to care too much, 40 people have viewed this post, but not one commented except for yourself. Are they frustrated? Not bothered? Grown immune to the problem? 

Or maybe we can just sweep this under the carpet or why not throw it on the side of the road the same as everyone else seems to be doing!! The council can't change peoples minds only we can do that, so maybe here is the correct place.



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Michele Erdvig


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I think litter is a problem in a lot of countries. There are generally fines here in the US. Of course the problem is catching someone in the act.

I remember a visit I made to Glendalough once where a school group had just been through and were departing on their bus. The place was littered with sweet wrappers, crisp bags, etc. My sister and I walked around picking up after the kids and disposing of it. Maybe schools should teach kids early about picking up after themselves. Perhaps outings to pick up litter instead of visiting national monuments and leaving litter behind. Addressing the problem at an early age will teach people what is acceptable and what is not.

However, I have seen another problem where the bins in public places were full and overflowing and looked like they had been for quite some time.

So, do tourists notice? Yes they do.

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tony2phones


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One problem is the end of the FAS scheme where long term unemployed were given E50 on top of the social payment to be employed 19+ hours per week on various employment plans including community programs , grass verge cutting, hedge trimming, litter picking. and the OPW add on which would include maintenance and emptying litter bins.

The new scheme replacing FAS pays E20 on top of Benefits for 30 hours per week.. wonder why there are so few takers? especially if it cost more than that just to get to the place of work.

On the plus side you could have to look at the litter problem on UK levels?

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