Ward calls for shake-up of Dublin’s waste system

Sinn Féin spokesperson for Dublin, Mark Ward TD, has called for major changes to how household waste is managed in the capital, saying one operator should be responsible for bin collections in each local authority area.

Deputy Ward was speaking after news emerged this week that the Department of Environment is reviewing current practices following 269 submissions.

He said the household waste-collection system could be in line for a “radical shake-up”, with bin companies taking responsibility for an entire geographic area rather than competing for customers on the same street.

“Collection of household waste is currently poorly run with multiple operators collecting bins on the same street and prices of collection soaring higher than ever,” he said.

Deputy Ward argued that having a single operator per local authority would reduce the number of bin trucks on streets and help cut down on illegal dumping. He added that it should also lead to lower charges for households, with prices set through the local authority tendering process.

“It will only be good for customers who have seen more price rises for bin collections in recent months on the back of annual increases,” he said.

The Dublin Mid West TD welcomed the Department’s review but pointed out that research on the issue has already been carried out by Dublin City Council.

“The Dublin City Task Force recommended that a single waste management company should provide the bin collection 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,” he said.

He noted the report showed Dublin was an “outlier” compared to other European cities of similar size and described the current system as a “wild west situation due to privatisation”.

“No other European city allows this side-by-side system, where waste-collection firms compete to sign up individual homes,” he said. “This is not an issue just for Dublin City Council but for all four local authorities in the Dublin area.”

Deputy Ward said Sinn Féin has long called for the remunicipalisation of public waste, insisting privatisation has failed.

“The cost-of-living crisis is affecting everyone, and private bin companies are exploiting their customers,” he said.

The Dublin Mid-West TD confirmed he has written to Minister for Housing and Local Government, Darragh O’Brien, asking him to take the review’s submissions on board and “radically change how we manage waste in our capital city”.

“When it comes to public waste, we cannot waste any more time,” he added.