Frustration over meeting with litter enforcement firm

In June, members of the council’s development committee called for a meeting with Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement (WISE) amid concerns certain areas are being targeted more so than others in the borough and claims the scheme is “failing miserably”.

Earlier this year, initial figures showed 95 per-cent of littering fines in Mid Ulster had been for discarded cigarette butts in the first two months of the pilot scheme.

In January, Mid Ulster District Council signed up to the 12-month pilot programme and figures for the first nine weeks of the scheme showed just five fines handed out for dog fouling and three for fast food litter.

At July’s meeting of the development committee, held on Wednesday, July 6, Councillor Barry Monteith asked if a date had been set for the meeting with the company.

Council’s assistant director of health, leisure and wellbeing, Kieran Gordon told the meeting officers are targeting the first week in September for the meeting.

“We had a monthly review with WISE and we are hoping to get a date in members’ diaries over the next week or 10 days and it is looking likely it could be the first week of September,” said Mr Gordon.

“We are just cross checking with democratic services the other commitments that are in members diaries for the first week in September. All being well we will hopefully get that information out in the next week or 10 days.”

In response, Cllr Monteith noted with some dismay the length of time it has taken to get this meeting organised. “It is disappointing,” he said. “This meeting will be almost three months after this issue was raised at committee but it is what it is”.

In June the Dungannon councillor lamented WISE officer’s targeting of cigarette litter while appearing not to tackle dog fouling.

“Yes, litter was an issue, but dog fouling was the main issue which was consistently raised by councillors and members of the public,” he said. “The complaints I get about dog fouling have not diminished since this initiative and a review, I think, would be very timely as this has been, I think, an unmitigated disaster.”

SDLP Councillor Malachy Quinn said he agreed with Cllr Monteith, telling the chamber dog fouling is still “out of control” in Torrent. “It seems these guys are simply trying to take the easy way out and are targeting areas of higher population and aiming for cigarettes, that is not the issue,” he said.