1.0 Introduction

The Litter Management Plan is a legal requirement under the Litter Pollution Act, 1997-2009 and the Council must review the plan every three years. This plan is structured under three headings; litter prevention and control, enforcement and education.

The Litter prevention & control section covers all activities undertaken both by the Council and voluntary groups to prevent litter occurring and actions taken to limit litter.

The enforcement section details a set of actions to pursue a small section of society that lacks personal responsibility regarding litter and waste management. This section also outlines the advancements required in the plan period to consolidate enforcement activities and to produce more litter fines and prosecutions as the current level of enforcement activity is not reflective in the number of litter fines issued and the number of prosecutions secured.

The education & awareness section describes the level of public participation and interaction between the Council and different groups in the county. It outlines the actions required to continue school interactions via the green schools programme, the types of litter campaigns required to keep litter in the public profile, and the support required to assist tidy towns groups as the Council acknowledges the huge role volunteers play in keeping their local areas free of litter.

Litter related expenditure incurred by Kilkenny County Council for 2016 was €1,293,500 with 80% attributed to street cleaning services. As with all plans, the actions outlined in this document will require financial support and new initiatives will require additional financial resources. As the Council operates within budgetary constraints, decisions may be made to prioritise actions in times of financial pressure.

The actions of the Litter Management Plan will be reviewed annually and presented to the Council by the end of Q1 in each year. In addition, a separate implementation plan will be prepared and circulated to all relevant Council departments and an update will be provided to the elected members every July to keep them informed on litter related activities occurring within their municipal district area. Enforcement activities will be reported to the regional enforcement division as well as to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).