SIPTU calls for waste management reform as Dublin homes left without waste collection

SIPTU has renewed its call for the radical reform of domestic waste collection services following reports that thousands of homes in north County Dublin without a provider are being investigated for possible illegal dumping of rubbish.

SIPTU Public Administration and Community Divisional Organiser, Brendan O’Brien, said: “Unfortunately, media reports that more than 4,000 households in north County Dublin have been asked by Fingal County Council to disclose how they manage their waste, and face fines if unable to do so, are not a surprise.

“This situation is consistent with what we have pointed out for years, that the privatisation of our domestic waste collection services has been a resounding failure. It has left more than 20% of homes without a domestic waste collection service and the State saddled with massive costs due to rampant illegal dumping.

“Reform, of the type which has long been called for by our Union, would end the duplication of collection services and dramatically cut back on illegal dumping which is costing local authorities millions of euros every year to clean up.

“In the case of Fingal County Council, it is reported that a €75 fixed payment notice will be issued to those that cannot provide an account of their waste management. This retrograde step is an indictment of the Council’s failure to address the real cause of the high levels of illegal dumping, namely the privatisation of domestic waste collection services.”

He added: “When local authorities operated the system, all domestic waste was collected and those who couldn’t afford the service were subsidised by local government. Without this subvention there is an increased likelihood of illegal dumping, particularly when we currently have hundreds of thousands of households not signed up to a privatised collection service. This is a dysfunctional system which directly results in increased illegal dumping.”

SIPTU Sector Organiser Con Casey said: “Large-scale illegal dumping also means the State is failing to meet its environmental obligations. Ireland is the wild west of domestic waste collection. Nowhere else in Europe is there side-by-side competition within the same local authority area between waste collection services. This leads to a situation where we have multiples of trucks in excess of what is required covering the same collection routes. This leads to unnecessary traffic congestion and increased carbon emissions.”

He added: “The Government is currently engaged with stakeholders in talks concerning its Local Democracy Taskforce, which have been convened to finalise a programme for the reform and strengthening of local government, in line with a commitment in the Programme for Government. This Taskforce has an opportunity to make recommendations for the radical reform of the domestic waste collection system which will allow local authorities to re-enter this market as has happened elsewhere in the EU.”