Kilkenny people urged to ‘call out’ roadside litter louts

Kilkenny County Council has joined forces with all local authorities in the south east as part of a new campaign to combat litter louts.

The council has teamed up with local authorities in Carlow, Waterford and Wexford in a new drive to eliminate  roadside litter.

The ‘call out litter louts’ campaign is urging anyone who finds themselves in the company of people who throw litter from their car window to “call them out” on their disgusting behaviour.

Kilkenny County Council Environmental Awareness Officer Bernadette Moloney said: “The last National Litter Monitoring Survey for Kilkenny reported that 63% of littering is caused by passing pedestrians and motorists. ”

“Roadside litter damages our environment and our wildlife. Littered roadsides also give an unfair impression of an area and can have a significant negative impact on tourism in the South East. We hope that the ‘Call Out Litter Louts’ campaign will encourage everybody to act and call out this filthy behaviour when its observed, as some gentle peer to peer pressure is needed to remind litter louts that their actions aren’t acceptable in our community.”

Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, Cllr Andrew McGuinness, added: “It is fantastic to see collaboration between the four Local Authorities, working together to try to combat this ongoing issue. We are all in the company of these litter louts from time to time, we need to play our part and call them out on their actions.

“Those responsible for roadside littering are blatantly belittling the substantial work carried out by many committed volunteers from Residents’ Associations and Tidy Towns Groups who work alongside our Council to keep Kilkenny looking its best.”

If you are interested in getting involved in the ‘Call Out Litter Louts’ campaign, contact environment@kilkennycoco.ie call 056-7794470 or follow Kilkenny County Council on Facebook and Twitter