Up to seven tonnes of illegal waste was dumped in the Wicklow and Dublin mountains over a three-day period during the first week of this year, local environmental partnership the Pure Project has said.
The charity has been busy removing the waste which it documented last week, with up to 7,000kg of waste seen last Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
Speaking on RTÉ's News At One Ian Davis, who manages the project, said that it is important to respond rapidly as rubbish attracts more dumping.
Furniture, household items like mattresses, tiles and bath tubs were among the items illegally dumped.
"It does nothing for our environment and it's very unfortunate to see that it’s continuing," he said.
As it takes deliberate effort to dump in the mountains, unauthorised waste collectors or a "man-in-van type set-up" are likely responsible, Mr Davis said.
He pointed to an overall reduction in illegal dumping over the past decade.
The PURE Project is a collaboration between voluntary and statutory bodies to protect scenic and environmentally sensitive upland areas and rural environments in the Dublin and Wicklow mountains.
It includes local authorities, Coillte, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Wicklow Uplands Council.
The project has a dedicated vehicle to provide more efficient clean-up response times to incidents of illegal dumping, and also report those who are involved in such activities.
Since its establishment in 2006, it has received over 9,600 reports of illegal dumping resulting in over 9,300 collections and the removal of over 2,900 tonnes of rubbish from the landscape.
