Donegal County Council has been asked to develop a policy around the use of skip bags in social housing estates amid issues in the Letterkenny area.
Skip bags incorrectly used for household waste, rather than bulky goods, have been left lying outside homes for weeks, according to Cllr Gerry McMonagle.
“Some are lying outside doors for months and causing problems,” Cllr McMonagle warned the council this week.
“They are attracting birds, rodents, dogs and taking down the whole tone of many estates.”
He added: “There are adequate household waste bin collections, it’s remiss of us that we don’t have a policy on the use of Sammy bags and the length of time they are in use outside a dwelling.”
The matter was raised at Tuesday’s meeting of the Letterkenny-Milford MD, where the council said they do engage with tenants when skip bags appear outside properties.
Seamus Canning, Area Manager, Housing & Corporate Services said that council staff are often “straight on” to tenants are reminded of their tenancy agreements.
“It’s something we are trying to pursue,” said Mr Canning.
The matter is set to be put forward to the Climate Action and Environment SPC.
A council statement added that environment staff are currently liaising with stakeholders with a view to improving the manner in which the skip bag service is managed.
