A ROSLEA youth group have had “no other option” but to take matters into their own hands, after Fermanagh and Omagh District Council claimed that social distancing “was not possible” at Roslea’s recycling site.
On Friday, members from the youth initiative, Sean Og Le Cheile, arranged for a skip to be brought to the car park beside St Eugene’s College to take the “pressure off” local households who have been at a loss since the closure of the site.
Christopher Conwell from the youth group told the Herald ; “The management of waste and rubbish is a vital service in any community.
It should be classed as a frontline and necessary service to reduce the possibilities of disease outbreaks.
“The decision to close rubbish collection points throughout the North in the wake of Covid was a mistake, however the closure of these rubbish collection points in remote areas like our village of Roslea was an even bigger one.
“The question for us is – will the rubbish collection point in our village ever open again?
“Why could the Council not have fully equipped their staff to keep these necessary rubbish collection points open throughout this pandemic by providing them with the necessary PPE as well as taking other precautionary measures?”
While the youth group has been “delighted” with the public response to Friday’s skip collection, they noted that this would only be a temporary solution for the people of Roslea; “This is not the answer and our group will be putting pressure on the Council to get this site opened. We trust that the Covid virus will not be used to close the Roslea depot permanently.”
Speaking on this issue, Cllr Eamon Keenan said; “I have called on the Council a few times recently to release their decision to keep the dump closed and suggested that it may be possible to open if certain social distancing measures were put in place, the reply from them so far is that it is not possible.
“Although it is disappointing that the Council dump has not yet been opened it is great to see the youth of the area organising in a way to help their community.”
A Council spokesman said; “Roslea Recycling Centre will remain closed as the Council is unable to implement all requisite safety measures to ensure that the Centres can be reopened safely. The reopening of the Recycling Centres is being kept under constant review.”
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