73% of litter caused by Litter Louts

Roadside litter comes in many forms from discarded cigarette ends to plastic containers, the leftovers of the takeaway, coffee cups and sweet and chocolate wrappers, sometimes flung from a vehicle window, and a regional campaign is being rolled out to eliminate this disgusting and senseless behaviour.

Four local authority bodies in the south-east are behind the campaign, which is labelled Call Out Litter Louts, namely the County Councils of Carlow, Kilkenny and Wexford and Waterford City and County Council. 

Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, Cllr Ger Carthy admits “We are all in the company of these litter louts from time to time, they all have friends and family who don’t agree with their disgusting behaviour, we need to play our part and call them out on their actions.

“Those responsible for roadside littering are undermining the substantial work carried out by many committed volunteers from Residents’ Associations and Tidy Towns Groups who work alongside our Local Councils to keep our Counties looking their best”, he concluded.

 “The National Litter Monitoring Survey reports that for Co. Wexford, a whopping 73% of littering is caused by passing pedestrians and motorists” says Hugh Maguire of Wexford County Council’s Environment Section. “Roadside litter damages our environment and our wildlife, as well as creating unnecessary and costly work for Local Councils and Tidy Towns Groups. Littered roadsides also give an unfair and inaccurate impression of local residential areas and has a significant negative impact on tourism in the South East. It is easy to blame the local take-away or motorway service stations” he adds, “but it’s up to each individual to ensure that their litter is appropriately disposed of.”

The aim of the campaign is to encourage everybody in their communities to act and call out this totally unacceptable behaviour. The Call Out Litter Louts campaign runs from July 20^th -31^st.  Anyone interested in getting involved or learning more email environment@wexfordcoco.ie, call 053 9196000 or follow Wexford County Council on Twitter.