Dublin City Council to roll out pilot project to bring bin collection back under public control

DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL is set to roll out a pilot project to bring domestic bin collection under public control. 

The move comes after it was recommended in a report on the circular ecomony published by the Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action earlier this week.

Over the last year, there has been an increased push to bring domestic waste collection in Dublin back under public control, largely led by Sinn Féin councillor Daithí Doolan.

Doolan has long maintained that Dublin is the “Wild West of Europe” when it comes to waste collection, arguing that no other city in Europe has as “chaotic” a waste management system as the Irish capital. 

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Speaking to The Journal, Doolan said a plan for the pilot project has not yet been put in place but that a meeting will be held next Friday with stakeholders, including trade union representatives, to get the ball rolling and explore the opportunities and challenges.

“It’s complex, but this is a great opportunity to develop a new system,” Doolan said.

“This is simply not a case of turning back the clock to pre-2012 it’s about creating a waste management system that meets the needs of the people.”

Proponents of remunicipalising domestic waste collection argue that the current system with side-by-side collection from multiple private operators is environmentally unfriendly and results in greater emissions.

There are currently approximately 25 household waste collection companies operating in Ireland. However, despite this, around 23% of households in Ireland have no waste collection service at all. 

It is argued that remunicipalisation could occur by ensuring there is one service provider for each local authority. 

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SIPTU Divisional Organiser, Adrian Kane suggested to the Oireachtas working group that to ensure there is compliance with competition laws – a key stumbling block to bringing bin collection back under public control – the service for each area would be put out to tender. 

Proponents of bringing waste collection back under public control also say that moving to a new publicly run system could help roll out brown bins to all households in the city and provide a viable alternative to areas that are currently bag collection only.

As it stands there are around 900 streets in Dublin that can only avail of bag collection, with complaints about litter and rodents common as a result. 

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