Carlow County Council call for help to  “Call out Litter Louts”. 

How often have you been in a car when one of the other passengers have opened the window and chucked out an empty coffee cup, the packaging waste from a takeaway or an empty plastic bottle? Have you noticed your friends or family fling out a cigarette butt or cigarette box?

Carlow County Council, as part of a regional roadside litter campaign with Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford County Councils, are calling for everyone in the South East to us help eliminate roadside litter. The “call out litter louts” campaign asks all of you who are in the company of those who chuck litter from their car window to do one simple thing “call them out” on their disgusting behaviour.

“The National Litter Monitoring Survey reports that 64.4% of littering is caused by passing pedestrians and motorists” says Jannette O Brien A/ Environmental Awareness Officer for Carlow County Council. “Roadside litter damages our environment and our wildlife, as well as creating unnecessary and costly work for Local Councils and Tidy Towns Groups. Littered roadsides also give an unfair impression of local residential areas and has a significant negative impact on tourism in the South East. It’s easy to blame the local take-aways or motorway service stations” She adds, “but it’s up to each individual to ensure that their litter is appropriately disposed of, and we hope that the “Call Out Litter Louts” campaign will encourage everybody in our communities to act and call out this filthy behaviour.

Cathaoirleach of Carlow County Council, Councillor Tom O Neill welcomes this regional roadside litter campaign. “It is fantastic to see collaboration between the four Local Authorities, working together to try to combat this ongoing issue.” Says Councillor “We are all in the company of these litter louts from time to time, they all have friends and family who don’t agree with their disgusting behaviour, 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 Local Councils to keep our Counties looking their best” Cllr O’ Neill goes on to say.

The “Call Out Litter Louts” campaign runs from the 20^th -31^st July. If you are interested in getting involved or learning more contact environment@carlowcoco.ie call 059-9136232 or follow Carlow County Council on Facebook and Twitter.