The Council’s website provides details of how members of the public may report incidences of littering. They may be reported to the Council on Freephone 1800 20 10 93, by contacting 8906799 or by email at envserv@fingalcoco.ie. They may also be reported in writing to the Environment Department in County Hall, Swords. Letter and email replies to members of the public generally contain the following details.
Incidences may also be reported to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) on confidential 24 hour Freephone 1800 365 121.
Where evidence is available that a person has committed a littering offence, a fine notice is issued to the person requiring the payment of a fine of €150 within 21 days. Failure to pay the fine will result in legal proceedings being issued in the District Court where the person on conviction may be fined up to €3,000.
My most recent suggestion to the Council was that all litter bins located throughout the county contain some information on the procedure for reporting these litter bugs, the following was their response.
There are almost 1,300 Fingal bins located throughout the county. It would not be feasible to have the information above imprinted permanently on these bins. The alternative of attaching an adhesive strip is likely to attract graffiti and/or the part removal of the strip which will look unsightly. Having regard to costs involved the imprinting of the information will be examined in the purchase of future bins.
While this is not the ideal answer, I believe it is indicative of the new reality that Councils now face.