More dumping in Ballyvolane

A Ballyvolane resident has criticised another instance of illegal dumping in the area.

The latest dumping was spotted by local residents in Lios Rua near Brookvale in Ballyvolane who posted pictures of the scene on Facebook.

The post read: “Up behind Lios Rua Brookvale, two fields up. Must be the new dumping spot. Will be reported to City Council to take away and be examined for identification. Absolutely disgraceful and disgusting.”

Noreen Murphy, a community activist who has been campaigning against illegal dumping in Cork’s northside for some time, told the Cork Independent that she “despaired” of the lack of consequences faced by people who engage in the criminal activity.

“It's so disheartening that people continue to do this. When you look at the pictures, it’s obviously someone who got a new kitchen or new presses. That's not somebody in extreme poverty,” said Ms Murphy.

She continued: “If you throw a crisp packet out the window of your car, it carries the same consequence for you as dumping a tonne of rubbish in somebody else's field.

“There's no consequences for the people doing this.”

Ms Murphy’s home, which is close to the infamous illegal dump at Ellis’s Yard, was targeted in May when manure was thrown on to her car.

Local Green Party Cllr Oliver Moran told the Cork Independent that he believes the privatisation of waste management is a major contributing factor to the issue.

“There is an issue with the privatisation of waste management. Getting rid of waste is a public matter if you commodify it rather than treating it as something that needs to be dealt with as a social issue, then you're going to put a price on it.

“This can result in somebody undercutting it like the illegal waste management we've seen in Ballyvolane.”

Illegal waste management, known locally as the “man in the van”, has become a major issue in the area with waste being dumped on private and council-owned land.

“If you give your rubbish to someone in a white van who looks like they're doing you a favour on the cheap, that rubbish is going to end up in a place like this,” the city councillor concluded.