Councillors welcome Dublin clean‑up plan, but demand answers on bins and CCTV
Expanded cleaning operations across Dublin have been welcomed, but councillors say there's still a lot of work to be done.
With Dublin City Council recently expanding its 24-hour street cleaning services to new areas around the city, recruiting dozens of staff, and investing in waste compactors, the Three Pillar Strategy to deliver a cleaner Dublin City has accomplished quite a lot in its first year. Although local representatives at Monday’s monthly council meeting highlighted several areas in need of improvement.
Fine Gael Cllr Colm O’Rourke commended the strides that have been made in recent years around litter prevention in Dublin, citing reduced media coverage of “waste and filth” in the city as a sign that things have improved greatly. “But we still have a lot more to do. Unfortunately, if you ask residents, their perception of the city is one that is filthy,” he said.
Cllr O’Rourke said that Dublin byelaws state businesses cannot leave rubbish outside their premises. However, he claimed those businesses that don’t provide bins for customers are effectively contributing to littering.
The lack of acknowledgement of community groups on Dublin’s anti-littering drive in the report was highlighted by Social Democrats Cllr Jesslyn Henry, who stated that groups like Tidy Towns do “a lot of the heavy lifting” for the Council.
With 3,500 bins scattered across the city, Cllr Henry pointed out that this was actually a reduction as, in 2008, there were 5,000 bins. “That’s a reduction of 30% when our population has gone up by 14% in the same timeframe,” she said.
The response from the Council stated that this was due to bins previously being unnecessarily placed in locations that didn’t require them, such as residential areas. However, Cllr Henry questioned whether the reduction in bins has more to do with “protecting revenue for private waste collection companies.”
Sinn Féin Cllr Michael MacDonncha asked for a breakdown of improvements by area in order to accurately predict which parts of the city require more resources and staff. Cllr MacDonncha also pointed out the role of industry and retail in reaching zero waste goals and lamented the proliferation of packaging that is “often practically useless” as an issue that needs to be tackled by the Council.
Speaking on behalf of the Green Party, Cllr Janet Horner said its essential to focus prevention at systemic level and engage with businesses across the city to ensure they are aware of their waste reduction responsibilities. “We still have far too much waste sitting on the side of the streets and too much dumping. It’s great to see a plan in place but I'm desperate to see the impact of it,” she said.
With a first phase of CCTV monitoring already implemented in illegal dumping hotspots, several councillors highlighted their desire for this to be further expanded in Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the clean-up plan. Early feedback has indicated positive results, although there are GDPR concerns and a worry that illegal dumpers have simply moved to unmonitored areas.
Labour Cllr Alison Field stated there is also a huge issue of illegal dumping at clothes banks and questioned whether the reduction in bins needs to be reviewed. People Before Profit’s Cllr Conor Reddy highlighted issues at Bring Centres in the North West, particularly Shangan Rd and Seamus Ennis Rd, which he said would be prime for CCTV enforcement.
Cllr Mannix Flynn spoke of the issue of night-time littering in the city, with fast food waste being a notable problem after dark. He also commented on the removal of plastic bottles from bins due to the Deposit Return Scheme, which sees bins torn open and “rubbish thrown on the ground.” The issue of people going through open bins for plastic bottles was also highlighted by Cllr Gavin Pepper.
Fianna Fail Cllr Deirdre Heney said it’s important that the Northside also gets its “fair share of the cake” when it comes to investment of resources, as it so often seems the Southside of the city gets priority in these kinds of initiatives.
The response from the Council recognized the issues raised by representatives and said they will be taken into consideration as the Three Pillar Strategy to deliver a cleaner Dublin City expands into it’s next phases.
This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme