- Does Laois County Council remove abandoned vehicles?
- Does the Council monitor air pollution in the county?
- Does Laois County Council operate an asbestos collection and disposal service?
- Where are my nearest glass and can recycling banks?
- Is it illegal to burn waste?
- Where are the cemeteries in Laois?
- Does the Council assist communities in cleaning up areas?
- Does the Council provide an environmental education service?
- Does the Council conduct farm surveys to monitor and eliminate pollution from farm waste into streams and rivers?
- Does the Council support the national Green-Schools programme?
- When is it illegal to cut hedges?
- What does the Council do about illegal dumping?
- Who is responsible for Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Licences?
- Does the Council support National Spring Clean?
- Does the Council support National Tree Week?
- What does the Council do about noise pollution?
- Does the Council have a grant scheme for Residents Associations?
- Who needs a waste collection permit?
- Does the Council have a waste management plan?
- What is Laois County Council’s position on odours from slurry spreading?
1) Does Laois County Council remove abandoned vehicles?
Yes on occasion only i.e. where it poses a risk/nuisance to third parties. It should be noted that the Council are not obliged to remove “abandoned vehicles” in private estates. The ELV Regulations are designed to implement the EU Directive on end-of-life vehicles in Ireland and have been operative since January 2007. In other words, where the owner of a car or van deems the vehicle to be beyond use, the vehicle can be brought to a designated Authorised Treatment Facility.
Every local authority must contain at least one ATF – at present there are five such facilities in Laois. The vehicles are de-polluted here, all fluids removed as well as the catalytic converter. A “Certificate of Destruction” issues to the owner and as much of the vehicle as possible is then recycled.
Full details are found here End of Life Vehicles
2) Does the Council monitor air pollution in the county?
Air Quality Monitoring is carried out at Emo, Co. Laois. The Emo site is located in the grounds of Emo Court, a stately home in County Laois. Up to date results can be found at: http://www.epa.ie/whatwedo/monitoring/air/data/emo/
Local Authorities are empowered under legislation to licence certain classes of activities which may give rise to air emissions. Activities qualifying for an Air Pollution Licence are as listed in Schedule 3 of the 1987 Air Pollution Act, and it is the responsibility of the Local Authority to control and condition such activities.
3) Does Laois County Council operate an asbestos collection and disposal service?
No. Laois County Council does not have a licenced facility to accept asbestos. You should contact a licenced waste contractor (ensuring they are licenced specifically to deal with asbestos).
4) Where are my nearest glass and can recycling banks?
The list of recycling banks can be found at under the Recycling centres/bring banks on this website. The maintenance of these facilities requires considerable resources. Bags and boxes of recyclables (or other materials) should not be left in the vicinity of banks – this is viewed as littering.
5) Is it illegal to burn waste?
Under the Waste Management Act 1996, it is an offence to dispose of waste by burning. If burning is causing a nuisance, contact the Environment section of the Council at 1800 323230.
6) Where are the cemeteries in Laois?
There are 27 cemeteries in the charge of the Council and all of these cemeteries have caretakers/registrars appointed by the Council. The caretakers/registrars issue receipts for the purchase of grave plots and interment fees and maintain a register of all graves/interments.
7) Does the Council assist communities in cleaning up areas?
Laois County Council run Laois Clean Up Week – one of their largest anti litter campaigns. This is run every April. Full details are available from Geraldine Wren gwren@laoiscoco.ie and on our section Clean Up Laois Week 2022
Clean Up Laois week is run in association with National Spring Clean which is organised nationally by An Taisce. Email nsc@antaisce.orgto register for this event.
8) Does the Council provide an environmental education service?
Yes. Our Environment Awareness Officer, Suzanne Dempsey is available to speak with schools and community groups to discuss a wide range of environmental issues. You can contact Suzanne Dempsey email: sdempsey@laoiscoco.ie
9) Does the Council conduct farm surveys to monitor and eliminate pollution from farm waste into streams and rivers?
Yes – technical staff are engaged in ongoing site inspections which are part of the Shannon and the South Eastern River Basin District catchment-based monitoring programmes. The aim of these projects is to develop measures to monitor and achieve good water standards in the relevant areas. Farmers may receive requests for farm waste management plans if required.
10) Does the Council support the national Green-Schools programme?
Yes, to date there are 61 Green Flags in Co Laois. Full details can be found under the Environment pages on this website.
11) When is it illegal to cut hedges?
It is illegal to cut hedges between March 1st and August 31st unless it is for road safety reasons. More information on hedgerows is available from the Heritage section of the website.
12) What does the Council do about illegal dumping?
Laois County Council have three local Litter Wardens (Enforcement Officers) who’s main role is to enforce the law in relation to litter which is set out in the Litter Pollution Act 1997 as amended. If there is a small quantity of bags illegally dumped (i.e. up to 5 bags), the Wardens will visit the site with a view to removing the bags and every effort is made to identify the litter offender/s. If the illegal dumping incidence is large-scale, the Council engage the services of a Contractor to remove the waste.
It should also be noted that the Wardens’ role is not to clean up sites/roadsides but to enforce the law pertaining to same. All complaints of illegal dumping/littering should be reported on the Council’s confidential freephone litter hotline at 1800 323230. The complaints are then logged on a database and dealt with accordingly.
The Environment Section appreciate the public’s help therefore your vigilance in identifying offenders is appreciated i.e. noting details of offences confirming vehicle registrations, townsland, date, time and identify of litter offender (if latter available).
13) Who is responsible for Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Licences?
These licences are issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, and cover large facilities such as Laois Sawmills, Meadow Meats and Atlas Oil/Enva. Complaints and queries should be directed to the E.P.A . Licences can also be inspected at the EPA websitewww.epa.ie
14) Does the Council support National Spring Clean?
Yes, Clean Up Laois week is run in association with National Spring Clean which is organised nationally by An Taisce. Emailnsc@antaisce.org to register for this event.
15) Does the Council support National Tree Week?
Yes. This scheme aims to promote tree-planting in Ireland. It takes place each March. The council runs a number of activities to promote awareness of the beauty and value of trees. These will be publicised nearer the event. For more information on this scheme, see http://www.treecouncil.ie/.
16) What does the Council do about noise pollution?
Laois County Council deal with noise complaints from commercial and industrial activities, but it is not the policy of Laois County Council to become involved in domestic noise complaints between neighbours.
The County Council encourages the affected person to approach the person causing the noise nuisance, and explain that it is a burden and try to come to a mutually acceptable solution. If this fails, the affected person can make a formal complaint to the District Court. Guidance on how to go about this is available athttp://www.enfo.ie/.
17) Does the Council have a grant scheme for Residents Associations?
Yes. The Community Section operates an annual grant scheme for privately developed estates (i.e. non-Council estates). The grant can be used towards the cost of estate improvements (e.g. seats, purchase of new shrubs or trees, signs) or any other similar expenditure. For Council estates you should contact the Housing section.
18) Who needs a waste collection permit?
Anybody collecting waste in Laois (regardless of where it is disposed) needs a waste collection permit. If you are having waste removed from your home or business, you must ensure that the collector has an up to date permit. The legislation is the Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations 2007, as amended. These should not be confused with waste permits.
Waste permits are required for the location where the waste is to be disposed of. Any person or company that collects waste anywhere in County Laois must hold a waste collection permit issued by Offaly County Council as they are designated authority for issuing permits for the entire country.
19) Does the Council have a waste management plan?
Yes. The current plan was adopted by the Council in 2021 Members of the public can view the plan in Áras an Chontae or on the here on the website – Waste Management Plan. Copies cost €50. An executive summary setting out the main points of the plan is also available.
20) What is Laois County Council’s position on odours from slurry spreading?
Laois County Council acknowledges that landspreading of agriculture slurries is a normal part of agricultural practices, and that some level of odour can be expected from slurry spreading. All slurry spreading must be carried out in accordance with the Nitrates Directive (S.I. No. 378 of 2006 European Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2006).