Waste compactors installed in Dublin’s north inner city as bin bags to be banned for 110 more streets
Four van-sized waste compactors have been installed in the north side of the city, two each at Marlborough Place and Loftus Lane, as bin bags are set to be banned from a further 110 city-centre streets.
It’s the second pilot of the compactors as Dublin City Council (DCC) aims to rid city streets of bin bags.
An area roughly stretching from Church Street to Gardiner Street, and Dorset Street to the quays, is now set to be bin bag-free from next Monday, May 11.
From that date, businesses and residents in the pilot area will be able to dispose of their black bin waste or dry mixed recyclables in the compactors, which are owned and managed by operators Panda and KeyGreen.
The council will shortly remove the derogation which allows businesses and residents in that area to present their rubbish for collection in plastic bags.
Green streets will go bin bag-free from May 11
Each compactor can handle up to 500 bin bags, crushing them to between a quarter and a third of their original size.
Businesses and residents in the pilot area have the option of either walking to the unit with their waste, or availing of a cargo bike service offering door-to-door collection for an additional fee.
DCC’s head of waste, Barry Woods, said these are the first stages of a six-phase programme to remove bin bags from all city streets, which is aimed to be complete by the second quarter of 2027.
“The whole project is really to remove the derogation from all 900 streets [in the city]. We’ve 90 streets completed on the south side of the city, and this is another 110, so we have 200,” he said.
Mr Woods said the focus of later phases would be on more residential parts of the city, and would likely incorporate smaller receptacles for waste, such as caddies and wheelie bins, or communal waste disposal areas.
Details of the proposals would arise out of discussions with waste operators, said Mr Woods, with the next phase scheduled for July to address bin bags in Stoneybatter and Phibsborough.
The second phase follows a successful rollout of compactors on the south side last October, in Temple Bar and St Stephen’s Green.
"From our own operational perspective, we’re seeing on average, about 20 tonnes a month less litter collection on our streets [since their introduction],” said Derek Kelly, DCC’s executive manager for the environment.
“The commentary has been really positive, but the businesses on the north side have been screaming at us to do it here,” he said, adding that around 350 customers are expected to avail of the new service in the area.
Mr Kelly met with Manchester City Council recently, and said they were “really envious” of what DCC has achieved with the compactors and seeking to replicate the scheme themselves.
"I think we’re first to the party this time, so we’re not the sheep. We’re the trend-setters here in Dublin this time,” he said.
If the compactor trials go well, the council will apply for planning permission for the units, which would then become a permanent scheme.