Waste contractor wanted in Laois to clean up illegally dumping

Laois County Council is looking to hire a waste collector to clean up illegally dumped waste from the countryside, as well as keeping Portlaoise cemetery spick and span.

The council has advertised on the E-tenders website for an authorised operator to take away the county's illegal waste for the next three years.

Last year the council's litter wardens, community volunteers and contractors cleared, sorted and properly disposed of 265 tonnes of waste from the ditches, roadsides and bogs of Laois. That cleanup cost the taxpayer €33,333.22, a cost confirmed this week by the council's environment section. 

Hidden CCTV cameras are coming to Laois this year to deter dumping.

The contract includes anything that could be illegally dumped, from grass cuttings to mattresses and anything in between.

"The purpose of the contract(s) is to provide Laois County Council with an authorised waste collector(s) to assist in the cleanup, collection, transport and disposal/treatment of illegally dumped waste material from various locations within the county and for the collection, transport and disposal of cemetery waste from Portlaoise Cemetery.

"Illegal dumped waste material may include domestic and commercial waste, bonfires and waste from community clean-ups by resident associations and bulky items, such as household furniture, bed frames, mattresses, kitchen units, doors, bathroom and toilet suites, scrap metal, timbers, bicycles, ladders, garden furniture, oil tanks, boilers, radiators, swings/slides etc. Bulky waste may also include all WEEE materials like Fridges, Freezers, Cookers, Small Electrical Appliances, TV’s, Computer Monitors, and Computer Equipment.

"All WEEE materials must be segregated and recycled. Tenderers must note that this is not an exhaustive list of bulky waste and must expect other types of waste in this category such as green waste including grass cutting and hazardous waste (e.g. asbestos etc.). Wastes from burial grounds comprise of subsoil, moss peat, dead flowers, weeds and domestic wastes from illegal dumping."

The closing date for the tenders is March 5, 2025.