Council won’t tolerate bottles being left at banks – even if they’re already overflowing

Recycling centres are not dumping grounds for the residue of the festive season when households have an unprecedented amount of bottles to dispose.

That was the warning from Galway County Council CEO Jim Cullen who said that, while it might not be possible to empty the bottle banks as regularly as they would like, the Council would do all in its power to prosecute people who just dump bags of empties there.

“There will be occasions when people turn up to bottle banks and find them full but that doesn’t mean that they can leave their bottles there,” he said.

“They are not to be treated as dumping grounds over the post-Christmas and New Year period and those who do flout the law will be prosecuted by the Council.

“Every effort will be made to empty them as regularly as possible but there will be occasions when this will not be possible but there remains an onus of responsibility on the public to dispose of bottles appropriately,” Mr Cullen said.

He was speaking at a meeting of Galway County Council when he said that there would be extra pressure on the local authority to empty the bottle banks given their expected usage.

This time last year the pressure on the recycling centres through the county broke all records given the volume of home drinking over the Christmas period.

Already many of the recycling centres across the county are full to capacity and need to be emptied on an almost daily basis. Some have experienced illegal dumping because the bottle banks were overflowing.

Cllr Padraig Mac An Iomaire (FG) has urged Galway County Council to empty the bottle banks on a more regular basis in the aftermath of Christmas and the New Year.

The South Connemara councillor said that invariably they were going to be full much quicker than at any other time of the year and particularly as people were not frequenting pubs as often and, instead, were drinking at hime.

“It goes without saying that people are going to bring their recycling to the bottle banks and the vast majority will just leave them there if the bins are full to capacity rather than bringing them home,” Cllr Mac An Iomaire added.

Meanwhile, an additional 16 large bins with an 1,100 litre capacity have been installed around Galway City to help cope with increased rubbish during busy periods.

The bins, which cater for recycling and litter, have replaced wooden bins at Spanish Arch, Wolfe Tone Bridge and the Salthill Prom.

It follows the installation of an additional 21 solar compactor bins this year, a 25% increase on 2020 levels.

Fine Gael Councillor Eddie Hoare has welcomed the investment by Galway City Council saying that for too long during peak periods, he has seen bins overflowing.

“It is not surprising that this has led to numerous calls for more bins around the city and the rollout of additional bins has been very welcome,” Cllr Hoare added.