An estimated annual bill of £800,000 for sweeping up 8,500 tons of litter from the streets of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown has led to the county council starting an anti-litter campaign.
Calling on residents to take responsibility for combating the problem, the cathaoirleach of the county council, Mr Donal Marren, yesterday launched the campaign which, he said, was designed to raise the level of awareness. He described the cost of sweeping up the tons of litter as "staggering for a self-inflicted problem".
"We want residents to realise the wastefulness of the council having to spend so much money cleaning up our streets and parks," he said.
The campaign will be in three phases: the first will be to raise awareness; phase two will involve actions within the community including a clean-up week, and the third will be centred on youth education and competitions.
As part of phase one, all 60,000 households in the country will receive a leaflet setting out the responsibility of all citizens under the Litter Pollution Act 1997.
These responsibilities include requiring all homes and businesses to keep the pavements and grass margins outside their properties free of litter; the hirer of skips to take all precautions to prevent any overflowing rubbish; making dog owners responsible for removing their pets' waste from public places and people's gardens, and banning the placing of advertising flyers on car windscreens and other vehicles.
Mr Marren said the county council was making good progress in improving the delivery of a clean local environment and yet litter remained a major problem and challenge.