Emergency litter bin plan needed

LITTER wardens and litter louts beware - Cllr Kathleen O’Brien has warned she’ll be keeping a close eye on litter bins around Portlaoise town, to ensure they are being emptied every second day as promised.

At last week’s meeting of Portlaoise Town Council, a motion was proposed by cathaoirleach Cllr Willie Aird that Laois County Council ensure that the bins are emptied every second day.

Council engineer, Mr Farhan Nasiem replied that normally they are emptied, but there had been a staff issue recently which was being resolved.

“You should maybe have an emergency plan, on the one hand we’re encouraging people to use bins, but then they’re not emptied for two weeks,” said Cllr Aird.

“It’s not good enough,” declared an animated Cllr Kathleen O’Brien. “If there’s an overflow and it’s windy, the litter blows everywhere. There was a lot of litter on The Plaza recently and grass verges around the place are covered in litter. If someone is out sick, someone else should be put in place.”

“If the council are going to provide new bins, it could be embarrassing for us,” added Cllr Jerry Lodge.

“There’s no point in putting in new bins if they’re not being emptied,” continued Cllr O’Brien, before adding ominously: “I will be watching to make sure they’re emptied every second day.”