Anger over dumping of builders' waste close to Mellifont Abbey access route
A lorry load of builders waste was dumped in the Starinagh area last week, just days before last Saturday's Heritage Walk to Old Mellifont.
Local residents were horrified on Tuesday morning to discover the building materials dumped at adjacent field gates, with quite an amount spilling on to the roadway, partially blocking it.
"This is disgraceful and disrespectful behaviour by any standard," said Gerard Weldon of Broomfield and District Residents Association.
"It was dumped at the foot of Baile na Carraige, a significant historical landmark. This road leads to Old Mellifont Abbey, and is popular with tourists and walkers, and was used for last Saturday's Heritage Walk to Old Mellifont.
"Locals, and others further afield are furious that this fly tipping is increasing. People are genuinely outraged. This latest incident happened sometime during the hours of darkness on Monday night/Tuesday morning.
"Once again, Meath County Council were on the ball in record time and by lunch-time on Tuesday, had made a start on the clean-up, finishing the job on Thursday morning.
"This was probably the worst ever dumping incident across the district, and must be called out for what it is - deplorable! It should also be mentioned that if the landowners wanted access to their land, they would be blocked from doing so by the amount of dumped material. Some of the material had large nails protruding from it, making it extremely dangerous to work with."
Mr Weldon said that as with previous dumping incidents, most of this material could be re-cycled or disposed in an environmentally friendly way.
"It is well known at this stage that litter wardens and those in local authorities involved in cleaning up illegal dumps are ran off their feet. Volunteers, the length and breadth of the country are also involved in clean-ups, litter picking, Pride of Place initiatives and many other initiatives aimed at presenting where we live, our communities, in a positive and welcoming way. Yet we still have numb-skulls involved in illegal dumping all over the place. The cost of illegal dumping nationwide on a yearly basis is enormous, but in the heel of the hunt it is the compliant tax payer that foots the bill as always.
"The money that it takes to clean up all the illegal dumping that takes place could be much better spent on providing health care for those who need it most - scoliosis sufferers, is just one instance."
He thanked everyone involved in supporting the efforts of communities and organisations who are making a difference in their respective areas and the local residents who did everything they could to help during this last dumping incident.