Sinn Féin councillor Janice Boylan has submitted an emergency motion to Dublin City Council to halt plans to remove the waste bag collection service from residents in Stoneybatter and the north inner-city in July.
The North Inner City councillor said “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residents in Stoneybatter and the north inner-city are being told that their waste bag collection service will be withdrawn in July, and that they must instead have wheelie bins.”
“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,” she said.
“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,” she added.
“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.”
Boylan 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. Sinn Féin has long argued that waste collection services must be brought back under public control to ensure that essential services are operated in the best interests of the people, not private profit,” she said.
“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.
“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,” the Sinn Féin councillor said.