A relaxation of rules at a south Armagh recycling centre would help to reduce incidents of flytipping in the area, it has been claimed.
One local councillor has said he believes improved access to the facility at Crossmaglen might go some way to addressing the blight of roadside dumping.
There are currently restrictions in force on some types of vehicles which prohibits them from availing of the amenity site.
The SDLP’s Pete Byrne has asked Newry, Mourne and Down District Council to give his suggestions due consideration.
He believes more effort should be put into addressing the “growing issue of domestic dumping in the south Armagh area”.
Explained Councillor Byrne: “With the rise of waste turning up on illegal dumps and on the side of roads in south Armagh, I have called for rules surrounding the access to Crossmaglen Recycling Centre to be relaxed to ensure the council does all within its power to address the issue.
“At present, there are restrictions on vans and commercial vehicles being allowed access to the Crossmaglen facility to offload domestic waste.
“This only encourages the type of dumping that we have seen in recent times and the subsequent clean-up is a further drain on council resources.
“Council policy also restricts the amount of waste that is kept on site in Crossmaglen. This includes restrictions on the capacity of skips and number of disposed appliances the site can store. If these policy restrictions remain in place, we must ensure that waste is removed as soon as possible to ensure we don’t turn people away.
“I have called on numerous occasions for these restrictions to be changed and I welcome the commitment from council officials to review its policy. It is important that we maximise and enhance the potential of our own facilities to ensure accessibility.”
Councillor Byrne said that with the Slieve Gullion area fast becoming the biggest tourism driver within this district, it was s a shame that problems with dumping and flytipping persisted.
He added: “These are just a couple of common sense measures that will make the Crossmaglen Recycling Centre more accessible to those looking to dispose of domestic waste.
“It is within our gift to transform how the Crossmaglen facility operates and we shouldn’t allow policy to block the potential to address this issue.”
