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Human excrement dumped in housing estate

Friday, 05 February 2010

A MOUND of rubbish recently turned a Northside estate into a dumping ground for abandoned furniture and household and human waste. Uncollected wheelie bins along Gateway Crescent, Gateway Place and Gateway Mews amassed to form a foul smelling rubbish-tip that became a magnet for rodents and illegal dumping. Human excrement was also found in the rubbish that had been accumulating since early December. It’s thought that the human waste was discarded in black bags during the period of water shortages when residents were without water to flush their toilets. Dublin City Council was eventually forced to remove the waste, which had stockpiled as a result of residents falling into arrears on bin charges, in the interest of health and safety. According to Brid McHugh of Sillogue Gardens, which is immediately beside Gateway Crescent, the rubbish was strewn along a main thoroughfare, which many residents use when walking to the local shops “The problem got very bad, it was critical,” she told Northside People. “Day after day, more rubbish was piled up on the mound. “There were dirty nappies, waste food and other types of waste which I’d rather not think about. “What’s worse is that we then had people dumping their furniture on the mound because it was considered a dumping ground.” She added: “We were basically living in a mini landfill.” Ms McHugh explained how she and her neighbours approached the council to lodge official complaints on the matter. “I could see the dumped rubbish from my window and it got to stage where the bins were set on fire and the Fire Brigade had to be called to the scene,” she said. Fellow resident Emma O’Riordan had also reached the end of her tether with the situation. “The wind blew the rubbish all over our gardens,” she said. “There was broken glass all over the path, it smelt disgusting and it was only a matter of time before rats were attracted to the discarded waste. “It was a sorry state to see rubbish piled on a path that is used by so many people.” Ms O’Riordan said she became “fed up” with making complaints to the council about the situation. “I even made written complaints which again seemed to be ignored,” she explained. “You’d have to wonder whether the problem would have been dealt with more promptly if this wasn’t an estate in Ballymun.” Local councillor Paul McAuliffe (FF) said he was aware that human excrement was discarded in some of the bags that were dumped. “It was absolutely disgusting,” he said. “These people were clever enough to know not to throw away any documents that might identify who they were so that the rubbish can’t be traced back to them. “Unfortunately, these types of situations where rubbish is being dumped is happening more and more throughout Ballymun and Finglas because people are just not paying their waste charges.” Cllr Dessie Ellis (SF) said the number of residents falling into arrears will undoubtedly lead to increased dumping and litter pollution problems. “Residents are now only entitled to four free lifts a year and they have to pay e6 a lift after that which many people simply won’t and can’t pay for,” he said. “The change in the waste collection system and the abolition of the free junk collection has only exacerbated the issue.” A spokesperson for Dublin City Council confirmed that it had refused to collect the bins in Gateway Crescent, Gateway Place and Gateway Mews due to arrears on accounts. “The city council’s environmental waste charge notification advises customers that failure to make payment may result in the service being withdrawn,” he stated. “Prior to the removal of dumped waste, it was examined with a view to issuing fines under the Litter Pollution Acts.”