An independent councillor on Meath County Council to provide equal access to all municipal districts when it comes to the bulk waste amnesty. Carol Lennon tabled a motion to that effect at the April meeting of the council. She asked why the council could not have an open depot for mattresses etc at Laytown or Duleek. She said the present system was not fair and was not acceptable. She said that something needed to change. She said the East Meath area paid “huge” property tax but the area was short of amenities like a swimming pool, local parks, a fire station or a waste facility.
In supporting information council officials said that it continued to support residents in the responsible disposal of bulky household waste through the provision of free bulky waste amnesty days at civic amenity sites in Navan, Trim and Kells with an additional recycling centre in Dunboyne. These events were designed to reduce illegal dumping and to ease the financial burden of disposal costs for households by covering the actual cost of waste processing.
It also recognised that Meath had a very large geographic footprint with many residents living near county boundaries. These residents routinely access bulky waste days in neighbouring counties, all of which provided similar schemes, they said. Louth, Kildare and Dublin ran free bulky waste days. Cavan and Monaghan had 50% off days.
“This means that, in practice, residents all along the Meath border North, South, East and West can
use whichever facility is closest to them, whether inside or outside the county. Residents can use mywaste.ie to identify the nearest facility to them. Bulky waste days are a regional norm and Meath is performing fully in line with all neighbouring local authorities. In addition, the council has confirmed our contractor Oxigen that vans are accepted at bulky waste amnesty days. Commercial vans or commercial scale loads are excluded as these events are for household use only.” The council maintained that residents in all districts already had “excellent access” to bulky waste disposal options.
