Inner city politicians welcome DCC u-turn on bin bag ban

Local politicians have welcomed the decision by Dublin City Council to indefinitely shelve its plans for a bin bag ban in the North Inner City.

Labour TD Marie Sherlock had been among the most high-profile critics of the planned ban on bin bags in the Dublin 7 area.

The Dublin Central TD held a public meeting in June, where hundreds of local residents attended and called on Dublin City Council to do a U-turn on their plans.

As recently as September 28, a protest took place outside City Hall, calling on the Council to cave; and cave they did.

“It should never have come to this. Dublin City Council should have realised their plans were unworkable,” Sherlock said.

“We all recognise the need to address waste management in our city, to tackle illegal dumping, and have a system that serves our city well. But this plan was ill-thought-out, did not consider the needs of the community, and was lacking in ambition for the sort of waste management service that our city deserves,” the Labour TD said.

As a result of the campaign, Dublin City Council has initiated a public consultation.

Per Sherlock, it is apparent that this consultation reflected the “overwhelming reality” for the community. 

“Of course, consultation should have never come after the introduction of plans – it should have been central to this significant change,” she noted.

“It is clear many residents could simply not accommodate large wheelie bins or accept a poor caddie collection service. The changes did not reflect the unique nature of some inner-city streets with terraced housing, small footpaths, and limited back garden space.”

Sherlock said that there is now a “real opportunity” to reform waste management within Dublin City Council jurisdiction.

“Dublin City Council must now engage with the government to address the clear gaps that exist in the role of local government over waste management.”

She said that ideas such as shared community collection should be trialled, and that waste management companies should be made accountable to local authorities.

Sherlock’s wishlist was part of a bill she proposed in the Dáil in September, which was subsequently voted down by government parties.

“There are real options available but we need action now,” she said.

Sherlock’s bill called for a change to the Waste Management Act 1996, with the aim of empowering local authorities.

Under the legislation, which the government parties shot down, local authorities would have the power to appoint a single operator for their local authority area, and do away with the competition element which has seeped into Ireland’s waste management system.

Under current legislation, section 2 and 3 of the existing act excludes local authorities from making waste collection arrangements in their area.

Sherlock noted that on the numerous occasions she has raised this discrepancy in the Dáil, the government line boils down to the decision resting with the chief executive of each local authority.

Sinn Féin councillor Janice Boylan said that the remunicipalisation of the waste collection service is now “firmly back on the agenda.”

The North Inner City councillor said, “from the very beginning, this transition has been handled with an unacceptable lack of consultation.”

“Residents in small terraced houses with no front gardens and tiny backyards were effectively told by decree that they had to take wheelie bins. This completely ignored the physical reality of these homes, which simply do not have the space to store large bins internally.

Boylan said, “furthermore, forcing wheelie bins onto our narrow inner-city footpaths would have made them entirely inaccessible for people with mobility issues, wheelchair users, and parents with buggies. The level of confusion and anxiety this caused was entirely avoidable.”

Boylan called the pause a “positive first step,” and said that the council must now seriously consider the remunicipalisation of this pilot scheme.

“We cannot be held to ransom by private companies. Private waste providers have failed to respond to basic inquiries from worried residents, leaving them completely in the dark,” she said.

“Sinn Féin has long argued that waste collection services must be brought back under public control. We need a service that prioritises the needs of local residents over private profit. No further changes should proceed until a comprehensive consultation process is completed,” she said.