Is this illegal dumping?

B

Brouhahaha

Guest
Hi,

I'm buying a house from a guy - the house is being renovated. I intended to fill a skip with refurbishment waste (some rubble, kitchen presses, floorboards). He says he's trying to fill in a hole on his farm and will gladly take the stuff for that purpose. Is it legal?
 
How big is the hole ??

This guy doesn't own a farm in Co Wicklow by any chance ? - There was a guy in Roundwood was filling a hole for years - cost the state (ie taxpayers) a couple of million to clean it up!

Technically yes this is illegal dumping. If you think about it for a moment, any chemicals that would be released from the builders rubble as it decomposes once buried would be released into the surrounding earth and soil and eventually into the ground water and ultimately into peoples drinking water.

Regulated Landfill sites are specifically designed and treated so as to minimise the risk of contamination from decomposing material.

efm
 
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You could do what most other smart people who illegally dump seem to do these days, and make sure that nothing to tie the waste to you is included. Personally, I think you should not be dumping anything other than rubble/soil in that 'hole'. Any old wood etc might have crap in it that can pollute as has been said.

here in the European City of Black Bags down South, i get the impression that the council got a nasty surprise when they realised that most of the people dumping bags on the street and creating the filth that is ongoing were cute enough to not throw any old letters/bills with their names and addresses on them.
Cork is like an enourmous dumping site at this stage...God only knows what will happen to us when the weather gets warm and the rubbish starts stinking the place in a matter of hours....
 
Ya I agree it sounds dodgy/illegal. However if you want to fill in a hole or something similar on land (a legitimate job, not a for-profit dumping operation) how else would it be done? I don't mean general refuse but wouldn't rubble and timber like you'd get from a house be appropriate? If you knock an external wall on land you can surely use that rubble for another purpose on the land. I'm just wondering when debris crosses the line to become something that has to go to landfill...

Cheers,
B
 
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I always knew Cork people were dirty maggots! ;-)

It is incredible that about half of all landfill rubbish is builders waste. The vast majority of this could be processed and back filled at the site where it was generated.
 
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The [broken link removed]Show me the Money programme on RTE featured a couple who 'filled a few holes' in their back garden with rubble and they got fined for 'illegal dumping.' (if my memory's right)
 
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Inform the Dep. of Environment about this "offer".Here in Cork most "holes" are coastlines and estuaries being turned into dirty bucks.A farmer has absolutely no interest in farming when dumping.Neither crops nor animals will thrive on dumps.All "holes" are protected by law,be it the conservation act or by the conditions adhered to subsidies .
I mean it serious.Inform the officials.What would you say when coming home you find your home/garden turned in to a dump?Since you know about this criminal and his intentions it is your moral and legal duty to prevent damage done.In not doing so you are an accomplice-at least in terms of moral.
 
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Heinbloed1,

He is not looking for money - he wants the debris as he says he has a use for it on his land. The 2nd R in the three Rs is Reuse. He's not about to volunteer to take the debris and then dump it on someone's garden. I'm trying to establish if the use could be legit. For example if he was laying a solid foundation on which to build a shed. The only way I'll know is if I ask him which I will. By the by technically it's his rubble in the first place as the sale hasn't closed yet.
 
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Reusing builders rubble is not that easy.First point:to handle waste one needs a waste management license.No license- no waste management.Second point:Builders rubble is not usable as a hardcore since it is of mixed origin(concrete of various grades ,plaster with wallpaper/paint on it,plastic,asbestos,heavy metals etc.) and therefore not allowed as a building material unless it had been certified .Co.Cork started an incentive to reuse builders rubble with the result that they have a huge heap of rubble that no one wants.Visible from the road when you take the southern link road around the tip in Cork city.The reason why builders do not want it-even for free-is that it is an unpredictable material.No one knows what is in it,what people in these demolished buildings stored,handled,spilled,painted on the walls.It can sag.It can burn.It can release dangerous substances like radon,pesticides etc.Metal parts can rust away,timber can rot away,plasterboard can simply dissolve,turning into mud.No engineer would take the responsibility for a building build with unknown substances resp.unknown physical/chemical behavior-lack of static calculations.
The only place where it might be of use is as a hardcore in road building.But that is after manual sorting, crushing,grading.Even the county council in Cork City is using fresh material instead for their road building projects.In the Netherlands I have seen it used as hardcore under bicycle paths,not under roads since builders won't take the responsibility,see above.In Germany it is the same situation.
In areas where there are wells or waterways it is illegal to use it,it could cause pollution to the groundwater and rivers . Asbestos fibers for example go through sand filters,in Berlin they have this problem since the town was demolished in WW2 and the material either recycled or heaped up and turned into parks and civil amenity sites.
A truckload (60 tonnes)of crushed fresh hardcore from the quarry costs around €180.- delivered incl. Vat..The delivery and the VAT make about half that price.Would you try to save €180.- ( €90.- with the material for free)
when building a house or a road for hundreds of thousands of €s total building costs and running the risk that the project collapses,people get injured etc.?For € 180.-?!Plus the fine for illegal waste trading/handling?!
If someone that irresponsible resp.that poor one
should not start building in the first place.
A good foundation is a must for a good building.Using rubbish makes the entire project doubtful.
 
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Technically speaking this is indeed illegal dumping unless that is that the person in question has 1. a waste collection permit from his local authority, which allows him to transport the material and 2. he is in possession of a waste permit for the site, also granted by the local authority, which specifies the types of material he can accept at the location. If he does not then this is illegal - no ifs/buts. It is easy to find out as all Local Authorities have a register of the permits on their books - just give them a call. If he does not have the proper authorisation then do not give him the material, if his site is under suspicion of being an illegal dump it may well be under supervision! Hope this helps.
 
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