Cllr. Charlie Farrelly at the ALDI Car Park Bottle and Can Banks on Friday evening. The recycling facility is soon to be moved back to the Castleisland Area Services Centre car park from where it was moved in early 2003. ©Photograph: John Reidy
An mild example of the kind of abuse foisted on the bottle and can recycling facility at the ALDI car park.

Castleisland’s uneasy relationship with bottle banks and recycling facilities has been dog rough since they were introduced here in the early 2000s continues.

After falling foul of neighbourhoods on both ends of the town before settling in the ALDI store carpark, some horrific abuse of the facility means that it’s on the move again.

There is a proposal now to have the ‘banks’ moved back to the services centre car park. It had already been moved from there in early 2003 because of the same levels of abuse which causes it removal now again.

Since then the facility spent a few months on the Cordal Road side of the old library at the top-of-the-town.

Nasty Old Habits

And the nasty old habits of a minority of facility users brought the wrath of the neighbours and the banks were on the road again. This time they were placed in the LIDL car park on the Tralee Roads.

Then all the old habits returned and the banks were brought to their current location in the ALDI car park.

Practically everything that shouldn’t be deposited or dumped there has been and it’s not getting any better.

The frequently disgraceful state of the facility and the area around it has been brought to the attention of Cllr. Charlie Farrelly and he, in turn, raised the issue at the recent meeting of the Castleisland / Corca Dhuibhne Municipal Destrict.

Cllr. Farrelly’s Motion

Cllr. Farrelly’s motion went as follows: “I am calling on the municipal district (MD) to install recording cameras at the public bottle banks in the ALDI car park in Castleisland. If these cameras cannot be installed, then our MD should move the bottle banks to another suitable site within the town.

In reply, Cllr. Farrelly was told as follows: “This carpark is pribvate property, therefore the council cannot install CCTV monitoring equipment at the location for these bottle banks in the Castleisland Area Services Centre car park. The bottle banks will be relocated within one month.”

What’s The Point ?

If it is the case that cameras can’t be used at the proposed new location for the recycling facility, which is anticipated to be near the public toilets, then is there any real advantage or point in moving them ? And how long will it be until they become the public nuisance the public has made of them in asll their previous locations to date?

However, a report by Sarah Burke in The Irish Independent in February 2024 revealed that county councils around the country could now legally use CCTV evidence to prosecute people who dump their household rubbish and waste in areas covered by such technology.

Focused and Narrow Remit

The law covering the use of such evidence has a very focused and narrow remit and must be fully relevant and unambiguous in its dealings with the case it helps to put forward.

Ms Burke wrote that the change in the law came in under The Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022.

The Maine Valley Post on… Anyone in The Maine Valley Post catchment area who would like to send us news and captioned photographs for inclusion can send them to: jreidy@mainevalleypost.com Queries about advertising and any other matters regarding The Maine Valley Post can also be sent to that address or just ring: 087 23 59 467.