Sir, – Walking during lockdown has made me aware of the amount of litter in the hedgerows. I have taken to picking it up.
Recently, I emailed Galway County Council to ask whether it provides practical support to litter-picking volunteers. I was thinking in terms of them supplying dustbin bags or taking away collected, bagged rubbish.
I had a charming response, thanking me for my interest and my efforts and appending a five-page form, plus four pages of explanatory notes. It seems that I must return the filled-in form before it can offer help.
I must also provide, among a list of other things, evidence of public liability insurance to a level of €6.5 million, confirm that what I am doing complies with current health and safety legislation and, “if necessary”, provide a “method statement” and a temporary traffic management plan.
As directing traffic has never been my forte and I don’t know what a method statement for picking up litter is, I have decided to revert to gathering rubbish ad hoc as I go, using dustbin bags from home and disposing of the collected rubbish in the family wheelie bin, all while the traffic on our boreen runs unimpeded. The nine pages of paperwork will go in the recycling bin.
Picking up my squished sense of community spirit may not be quite so easy. – Yours, etc,
POLLY NOLAN,
Corcullen,
Co Galway.