Prosecutions could be close as cross border dumping investigations continue

Authorities on both sides of the Border are said to be closing in on companies responsible for large-scale illegal dumping 10 years ago.
Prosecutions are being sought against a number of firms who illegally transported 250,000 tonnes of household and commercial waste across the Border to be buried, with files being prepared on both sides of the border.
Today’s Irish Independent reports that Files are being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Republic and the Crown Prosecution Service in the North over 17 illegal dumping sites. The rubbish was brough across the border between 2001 and 2004, and instead of being brought to legal landfills, it was dumped at knockdown prices at unlicensed private sites.
The Environmental Protection Agency in the Republic and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) have been investigating those suspected of being behind the illegal dumping for the past two years.
Already the NIEA has secured three convictions against a number of property owners for illegally depositing waste from the Republic.
A total of 50,000 tonnes of waste has already been brought back across the border and properly disposed of in Donegal and Louth.
A recent study said insufficient enforcement of cross-border waste shipment regulations by local authorities, particularly in the Republic, is one of the reasons for the widespread illegal dumping.