Regulations governing the access and usage of the Council Recycling Centre in Crossmaglen must be relaxed to address the growing issue of domestic dumping in the south Armagh area, a local councillor has claimed.
SDLP Councillor Pete Byrne says he is calling on Newry Mourne and Down District Council to consider reducing its restrictions on vans and commercial vehicles being permitted access to the site, which may help combat the rise in illicit dumping of waste at roadsides.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Councillor Byrne says he has asked “on numerous occasions” for the restrictions to be changed and has welcomed a commitment received from Council officials to review its policy.
“It is important that we maximise and enhance the potential of our own facilities to ensure accessibility,” the councillor said. “With the Slieve Gullion area fast becoming the biggest tourism driver within this district, it is a shame that we continue to have problems with dumping and fly tipping. 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.”