Rubbish dumbed at the entrance to Ballygamboom Wood last month. Photo: Cllr Tommy Griffin
Fly tipping in Kerry is down significantly in the last few years, as community groups and council campaigns make their mark.
The volume of rubbish dumped in Kerry is down over 30 per cent since 2022 according to data obtained by a freedom of information request to Kerry County Council (KCC).
In 2024, around 67 tonnes of fly tipping was removed by the council compared to nearly 96 tonnes in 2022.
The number of reported incidents is also down 20 per cent from 720 in 2022 to 566 in 2024.
After being one of the first to report a fly tipping incident near Castlemaine in September, Councillor Tommy Griffin welcomed the news.
“I would welcome any improvement in the numbers, and I’d have to commend Kerry County Council for their enforcement work,” said Mr Griffin.
“Thankfully, following the incident the other day, the council identified where the rubbish had come from and they will be acting on it. Kerry County Council has been very good at identifying where these flying tipping incidents are coming from and maybe that’s acting as a deterrent, and the other side of it is the availability of bottle banks and increase of recycling.”
Since the Deposit Return Scheme started in February 2024, the public have handed in over 1.6 billion bottles and cans.
Figures released by Re-turn in July showed that 798 million more containers are being recycled since the scheme began, with recycling rates rising from just 49% up to 91%.
Mr Griffin also commended the work of the tidy towns network in promoting awareness and pride in Kerry’s communities and surrounding landscape.
At the Kerry Community Awards last month, Kenmare Tidy Towns won gold in recognition of their work in their local area.
“In every small town and every village now there’s an active tidy towns. People are taking pride in their towns and communities,” said Mr Griffin.
“I suppose people are vigilant for others who might be dumping rubbish and people are taking pride in their locations and people are not going to be opening their window and throwing out a piece of rubbish. Fly tipping is not socially acceptable anymore and people will not tolerate it.”