Plan to ban bin bags in Dublin 7 set to be postponed indefinitely after months of pushback from residents
A plan to stop residents in the Dublin 7 area from putting out rubbish in tagged bin bags on the street now looks likely to be postponed indefinitely.
It comes after months of pushback from residents, many of whom said their small homes had no space in which to store proposed wheeled bins.
Council party group leaders met this morning with executives from the local authority to discuss the matter, and all parties agreed to pause the changes for the time being.
It is understood the decision is currently awaiting final sign-off from the chief executive.
The postponement of the next phase of Dublin city’s waste strategy follows months of campaigning from local residents and representatives, and a threat from Social Democrats councillor Ellen O’Doherty to invoke Section 140 of the Local Government Act.
This measure would have forced the council’s hand and delayed the changes, which were scheduled to be enacted from October 17, if a majority of councillors gave their stamp of approval.
Speaking to the Irish Independent following the meeting, Green Party councillor Feljin Jose said all parties now realise the October timeline is “not feasible”.
“We’re going to set up a group to figure out a way forward, but I think the goal is still to be bag-free, but the timeline has been postponed indefinitely,” he said.
“I think it’s clear that there was an overwhelming negative reaction, and the October rollout in three weeks, two-and-a-half weeks, is not feasible.”
He said he would like to see communal bins introduced in Dublin 7, but that this isn’t possible under the current waste model.
The waste model is the subject of a recent feasibility study on transitioning away from a waste licensing system towards a tender-based model, but the report on this has yet to be published by the Department of Environment.
“We need to move away from the current model of side-by-side waste collection and waste competition between five or six different operators,” said Mr Jose.
“We need to move towards the system where one operator collects waste for the whole area, and only then can we have communal bins.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Environment said it expects to release the report “in the coming months”.
In a statement, Ms O’Doherty told the Irish Independent that she welcomed the delay to the rollout.
“Months of community organising and grassroots work by the residents of Dublin 7 have brought us to this point,” she said, adding that the proposed working group provides an opportunity to “find systems and solutions that are better fitting the needs of the area.”
“I welcome the suggestion of a working group, but any such group should include the perspectives of all stakeholders, including the residents and waste management companies.”
Dublin 7 residents have long complained of space constraints and mobility issues in moving from bin bags to multiple wheeled bins in small, city-centre homes.
The council says that animals and people can open the bags when they’re left on the street and scatter their contents, however locals said these concerns are exaggerated.