Forested area on outskirts of New Ross becoming dumping hotspot – ‘they’re driving up there with trucks’

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Illegal dumpers are finding new and innovative ways to escape prosecution in Co Wexford as they seek out land to dispose of household and industrial waste. One such area is Camross Hill in the New Ross district where truckloads of rubbish are being dumped in the middle of a forested area on a regular basis.

Raising the issue at the April meeting of the New Ross Municipal District (NRMD), Councillor Pat Barden said no one in authority seemed willing to collect the rubbish.

“There’s a serious amount of illegal dumping on Camross Hill, I’ve reported it to our emergency team on three occasions, it’s still not been collected,” said Cllr Barden. “Then I was told to contact Coillte about it. The rubbish is on a public road; but I’ve been told our team won’t collect it because there’s a forestry around it.”

While environmental engineer Hugh Maguire said he was “not familiar with the case”, he did offer an explanation regarding Wexford County Council (WCC) policies on illegal dumping: “waste dumping on private lands is the responsibility of the landowner, public lands and roads are WCC’s responsibility.”

As someone who meticulously tracks any instances of illegal dumping in the district, Cllr John Fleming said those responsible for the rubbish on Camross Hill were taking advantage of the confusion over who owns the land.

“These areas are being targeted because the rubbish can’t be removed easily, they’re driving up there with trucks, it’s become really bad,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cllr John Dwyer had concerns about the contents of the rubbish being dumped in nearby Ballywilliam.

“There’s asbestos being dumped there,” he said. “This is serious and very worrying, people should not be handling asbestos.”