Council pledges to empty bottle banks

Council pledges to empty bottle banks

30 July 2014

DOWN Council has apologised for not emptying overflowing bottle banks in Killough which led to minor trouble in the village recently.

Councillor Cadogan Enright has expressed concern at the delay in emptying the banks and the actions of those who continued to leave empty bottles at the quay, despite the banks being completely full.

He said it was his understanding that Down Council had instructed the contractor responsible for emptying the bottle banks to do so when they are no more than 80 per cent full.

“Having worked with Down Council to secure bottle banks for the village it appears they are now causing a problem,” he declared. “The banks are not being emptied when they should and bottles have been falling out and smashing on the ground. There was some minor trouble at this location two weekends ago with a number of bottles smashed.”

Councillor Enright said he had asked for the bottle banks to be emptied before they are filled to the top, calling for the issue to be prioritised by council officials.

“People should also not have left bottles beside overflowing containers believing that someone would look after them,” he declared.

The local politician said he was promised that when the bottle banks were provided in Killough that community police officers would keep an eye on the quay area at the weekend to make sure there was no anti-social activity in the vicinity.

Local authority officials said once the delay in emptying the bins was brought to their attention, the issue was addressed, with the bottle banks emptied on Wednesday.

They also confirmed they have asked the contractor to empty the bottle banks on a frequency that will ensure there is always capacity and the metal containers are not overfilled.

A local authority spokeswoman also confirmed that the Down Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) has asked the PSNI to ensure its local neighbourhood policing team is briefed on issues arising in and around the bottle banks in Killough and have asked for the area to be treated as a priority.  

“Down Council has requested that the PCSP community safety wardens prioritise this area as a ‘hotspot’ and specifically patrol in and around the bottle banks on Friday and Saturday evenings,” said the spokeswoman.

She also confirmed concerns surrounding the Killough bottle banks are scheduled to be discussed at a meeting of Killough Village Committee tomorrow evening.