Great to see progress on litter control in the Mayo countryside

COUNTRY FILE

IT's great to see the progress being made countrywide in regard to litter control. Even locally there have been many changes.

Just a couple of years ago it was hard to stem the tide.

Voluntary litter pickers would work unhailed and unpaid, struggling to keep a short section of roadway clean, doing so week after week only to find the same kind of rubbish waiting for them every time they venture out.

A major part of the problem is late-night takeaway wrappers and containers, which are fired from car windows when they are no longer needed.

As these are generally picked up and properly disposed of within a day or two of being thrown down, those doing the throwing don't give the matter a second thought.

Imagine what would happen if nobody bothered. The situation would rapidly deteriorate, and in the end something would have to be done to tackle those causing the problem.

The goodwill of our volunteers is being tested, but as long as it lasts no real progress will be made.

But what can realistically be done? Calls have been made for car registration numbers to be printed on takeaway containers. Such a thing might be difficult, but it could likely be done.

One man suggested that businesses could apply for grants to install the necessary technology and the money loaned could be repaid from fines imposed for future offences.

Others have called for bigger bins in public places. But more argue that people should simply take their rubbish home with them.

Anyway, we know well that even if a whole streetful of skips were provided people would simply fill them with their own personal waste. Bigger bins are not the answer.

Perhaps a look at legislation from other parts of the world would help.

First stop: California. Should we be caught disposing of our takeaway container in an inappropriate manner here we could expect an on-the-spot fine of at least $100, although this may be as much as $1,000 for a first offence.

Better than that, offenders are required to spend at least eight hours picking up other people's trash in organised community litter-picks.

Lessons not learned will result in larger fines and longer periods of community service.

Things are even tougher for litter louts in Louisiana, where disposing of trash from a car window might relieve us of our driving license for a year, as well as having to pay a fine.

There, repeat offenders are liable to a period of imprisonment not exceeding 30 days. The mere prospect of 30 days locked up in Louisiana should be enough to deter even the most absent-minded.

Perhaps we could learn something from the Rwandan city of Kilgali, where the entire community is required to come together once a month for a three-hour clean up.

Mobilising the entire population of Mayo for three hours on a Saturday morning would be challenging.

Yet it works there, and according the the Alliance to end Plastic Waste, 'Creating a collective responsibility for cleaning discourages littering'.

At the moment, cleaning up behind others in large parts of Ireland falls to the stalwart volunteers serving as part of the Tidy Towns groups, which are sponsored by SuperValu.

These men and women work for no reward. They venture out in all weathers, refuse sacks and pickers in hand, determined to keep on top of a growing problem for the benefit of all.

I just wonder what would happen if they stopped and let the litter accumulate until it becomes a festering boil ripe to be squeezed.