‘Glutton’ machine for Crosshaven put on the long finger by district council

TIDY TOWNS volunteers in the seaside town of Crosshaven may have to wait a little longer for a litter collecting machine called the Glutton, which would dramatically reduce their workload, it emerged at this month’s meeting of the Carrigaline Municipal District Council.

The Glutton is described by its manufacturers as an ‘electric urban waste vacuum cleaner’ and was recently seen in action in the town where it, effortlessly it seemed, collected 16 bags of leaves, dog excrement and other unmentionables from a local park.

A free demonstration of the machine in action had been requested by local councillor, Audrey Buckley, and so impressed was she with the machine’s effectiveness, she proposed at Monday’s meeting that Cork County Council would purchase a machine for the district.

“It’s an amazing machine, it’s like a 20-litre bin, you push it and it has a big vacuum on it and those who see the Tidy Towns volunteers doing the work, this machine would do the work of a couple in probably a third of the time,” Cllr Buckley told her fellow councillors.

“I would be pushing for the Carrigaline MD to purchase the machine after all the Tidy Towns Committee aren’t meant to be doing this work, collecting litter, we’re here for planting trees and flowers and the like,” she said, pointing out that the lack of council ground staff meant much of the burden for collecting litter had fallen back on volunteers.

“I think the ground staff of Carrigaline MD should do this work.”

She also added that a lot of Tidy Towns volunteers are senior citizens and this device, estimated to cost around €18,000, would save a great deal of back breaking labour.

In the official response from the council, it was pointed out by the Carrigaline municipal district officer, Denise Kidney, that a mini sweeper is used currently ‘to help with leaf blowing and picking up leaves’.

“A mini-sweeper is considered more effective at these tasks than a Glutton machine in a large scale area,” said Ms Kidney.

“If any of the community’s Tidy Town committees wish, they can apply for funding for a ‘Glutton Machine’ through the Community Grants in 2024.”

In her comments on the motion, municipal district engineer, Madeleine Healy, said the council had no ‘staff for sweeping up anything’.

“We have two mechanical sweepers that do what we can do in that respect,” she said. “If we were to buy this third sweeping type machine, then we need a person to run it, we don’t have that.”