New local roadside litter campaign launched

A roadside litter campaign has been launched by Roscommon County Council which aims to raise awareness of the issue of roadside litter caused by dashboard dining.

The anti-litter campaign slogan is ‘Put Litter in its Place! - Bin It or Bring It Home’ and encourages road users to have more pride in the roads they use. The campaign has been funded through the Anti-Litter and Anti-Graffiti Awareness Grant Scheme (ALAGS).

The National Litter Pollution Monitoring Survey for 2022 has reported that 61.6% of littering in county Roscommon is caused by motorists and passing pedestrians.

Environmental, Education and Awareness Officer with Roscommon County Council Jonathan Jones has urged members of the public to support the campaign: “How often have you seen an empty coffee cup, takeaway packaging or plastic bottle being thrown from the window of a passing car?

“Roscommon County Council is asking people to keep our roadsides litter free. Roadside litter damages our environment and wildlife. It also creates a lot of unnecessary and costly work for the Council and Community Groups to clean up.

“Our roadside campaign is encouraging road users to bin litter or bring it home when finished eating or dashboard dining in their car” remarked Mr. Jones.

The roadside litter campaign includes a primary school competition for students to design a car sticker with an anti-roadside litter message.

Roscommon County Council also wishes to remind people that all incidents of littering can lead to a €150 fine or a maximum fine on conviction in court of €3,000.