Rural resident fumes at rubbish

A RESIDENT has sent in pictures of litter spilled during waste collection in rural Antrim.

The items, including washed two litre milk containers and yoghurt pots, are unlikely to have been discarded by walkers or motorists.

The local woman, who lives off the Seven Mile Straight, said: “This litter has fell out of the Bryson recycling lorry as it drove along the road.

“The majority of images shown were taken on a stretch of road with no domestic dwellings nearby. The bin and recycling lorries were on the road at around 8am, as I observed both of them during my journey to the school bus stop on the Seven Mile Straight. I stopped and took the photographs on my way home.

“I find this deeply disappointing. Living in the countryside we are continually faced with litter - chip wrappers and drinks tins - thrown out of car windows. A number of years ago we experienced a fly tipping incident on our farm. The council refused to clear it up as it was dumped just off the road in front of a field gate.

“We pay our rates and get very little in return. Like many residents, I was opposed to the new bin regime, and is it any wonder given my experiences of broken recycling boxes, and now rubbish all over the road. The old system was working perfectly well and should never have been changed. This new system is not fit for purpose and is a complete waste of tax payers’ money.

“According to the council’s website it is ‘committed to maintaining cleaner communities and reinforcing the message that litter won’t be tolerated’.

“Under the Litter NI Order 1994 and Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act (NI) 2011, it is a criminal office to drop litter.

“Here we have a company, awarded a council contract, dropping litter in our rural area. Is there one rule for the public and another for the council? This is similar to farmers being scapegoated for pollution of Lough Neagh and other waterways, while NI Water can do what it likes.

“I trust that this litter will be cleared away today. It is a blight on our countryside and is dangerous to animals and wildlife.”

A spokesperson for Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council said: “The Council received correspondence from a resident about littering from a recycling collection vehicle on Carmavy Lane.

“This was reported through to the contractor who immediately dispatched a crew to uplift the litter in the area.

“Ongoing monitoring of collection crews and vehicles will continue to prevent this recurrence.”

Bryson Recycling responded: “We would like to apologise to residents of Carmavy Lane for the littering that occurred in the area.

“This is not common practice, not acceptable and falls short of the standards we expect from our staff.

“As soon as we were made aware of the issue, we immediately sent the collection crew responsible for that area back to clear the litter.

“We have now put additional monitoring measures in place to ensure vehicles and crews are not causing litter.

“All of our staff are trained in working practices designed to prevent litter during collections, as well as the importance of picking up any litter that may be dropped.”