An emergency motion has been submitted to Dublin City Council to halt plans to remove the waste bag collection service
Refuse sacks awaiting collection, Dublin, Ireland Refuse collection is paid for with tags which you buy in advance and attach to the bin or refuse sacks. (Photo by David Dear/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images)
The end of waste bag collection services in Dublin’s inner-city will leave footpaths “inaccessible” for buggies and people with mobility issues, said councillor Janice Boylan.
The Sinn Féin by-election candidate for Dublin Central has submitted an emergency motion to Dublin City Council to halt plans to remove the waste bag collection service. Cllr Boylan said that the decision to remove the service from residents in Stoneybatter and the north inner-city was undertaken without consideration for the small size of the footpaths in the area.
She added that many houses in the affected areas have little to no outdoor space to store wheelie bins. Cllr Boylan said that the decision was made “without any consultation with the residents in the area and with no alternatives explored.”
“With no consultation, residents in Stoneybatter and the north inner-city are being told that their waste bag collection service will be withdrawn in July, and that they must instead have wheelie bins,” she said in a statement regarding the emergency motion.
“This decree takes no account whatsoever of the fact that the houses involved are small terraced houses, with no front gardens and tiny back yards, with no space inside to store wheelie bins. “It also does not take account of the tiny footpaths outside most of these houses. Wheelie bins would make these footpaths inaccessible for people in the area with mobility issues or parents with buggies.”
The councillor said that there are alternatives that could be considered that would prevent littering, such as gull-proof bags, while keeping walkways accessible. “This decision is being made without any consultation with the residents in the area and with no alternatives explored. Alternatives exist – gull-proof bags are used by many councils in Britain, while local authorities in Spain have large secure community bins at the end of roads where residents can leave their waste bags and recyclables,” she said. “The lack of engagement with residents, the refusal to answer enquiries and the failure to explore alternatives shows an unacceptable level of arrogance, and that is why I have submitted an emergency motion to Dublin City Council to stop these plans. It is yet another example of how the privatisation of bins and waste services was a bad move for Dubliners,” she said.
She added that waste collection services should be brought back under public control to ensure that essential services are operated in the best interests of the people.
“In fact, over 18 months ago, the Dublin City Task Force agreed with our calls – recommending that a single waste management company should provide this service in Dublin city centre, with a further recommendation that, long term, the waste service should be brought back under the control of Dublin City Council,” she said. “Waste management is an essential service for the people of Dublin. It is time for the government to take these services back under public control and ensure that they are operated in the best interests of the people, not private profit.”
110 city streets are going to be bin bag-free, as waste compactors have been installed on Marlborough Place and Loftus Lane. The new compactors will be available to everyone who is based on the streets from May 11.
Dublin City Council have been contacted by Dublin Live for comment.
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