Stronger policing of clothes banks is required across Co Clare according to elected representatives.
Contracts are required for the supply, servicing and maintenance of textile banks on sites controlled by Clare County Council. The local authority is responsible for the tendering and awarding of these contracts.
Textile Recycling Ltd are currently responsible for textile banks on Council controlled property in Clare.
When textile banks not under contract obligations to the Council are not regularly serviced and cause “a waste nuisance” such as dumping, a fourteen day removal notice can be put at the relevant bank, acting executive engineer with the County Council’s environment department, Antony Considine outlined.
Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) shared his concern regarding a number of textile banks across the country as clothes were being left beside them following a failure to empty the banks on a regular basis. He flagged that identification is lacking in some instances. He suggested that clothes banks without identification be removed. “Unidentifiable clothes banks should be removed, they are not bona fide and not charitable. People should report them if they are not being emptied on a regular basis”.
He added, “Ones that are not bona fide should be removed, not even returned to the owner but just sent to the dump”.
Clothes banks in Kilrush were labelled “an absolute disaster” by Cllr Ian Lynch (IND). “One came in then two, three and four”. He said that items from the banks were being “discarded all over the town”. He maintained that certain criteria should be met before such banks are put in place. “It is costing us a fortune. There are weekends where there are tonnes of bags left. Some of them are not for charity. If they are not put behind a wall and tidied up, get rid of them”.
Acting senior executive officer, John O’Malley recalled that the item was an issue in the Council’s environment section five years ago. He said the matter would be reviewed once again.
