Hike in litter and dog mess due to increased Ebrington footfall to be addressed by Executive Office

Enhanced toilet-cleaning and waste collections and new dog bins are among the measures being rolled out.

Ms. McStravick outlined the initiatives after being contacted by Waterside Sinn Féin councillor Christopher Jackson who complained about the cleanliness of the Square.

“With the COVID pandemic there has been a substantial increase in footfall through Ebrington and other sites throughout the city, so it’s vital we do all we can to keep them clean and safe,” said Colr. Jackson.

In a letter Ms. McStravick explained how Ebrington is classified as a construction site and new internal roads and walkways are being installed to help people safely transverse the site.

“These works generate debris/rubble and we are trying to minimise the impact on all Ebrington public areas,” she wrote. The TEO is also dealing with increased demand for its public toilets.

“The use of the Ebrington public toilets has increased substantially and to help address the matter we have increased public toilet opening hours, installed additional public toilet facilities and substantially increased the toilet cleaning programme,” she stated.

Equally, littering has become more of a problem.

“Disposable, recyclable drink and food carton waste represents a sizable proportion of the additional waste and to help manage the situation we have requested our on-site drink and food providers consider reusable materials, have increased our waste bin collection rota and are currently installing blue recyclable waste bins to collect this type of waste,” Ms. McStravick advised.

Six new dog bins are being installed and the TEO has contacted the Council to request more warden visits.

Colr. Jackson said: “These measures will hopefully bring back the usual high standards we have come to expect in Ebrington Square and help it retain its status as a premier site for work, recreation and leisure.”