What a scoop! Dog fouling bins no longer being installed by Dublin City Council
Dog fouling-specific bins are no longer being installed in Dublin, according to the city council.
The authority confirmed the change in policy in a response to a query from Fine Gael councillor Supriya Singh on the removal of a dog waste bin on Springdale Road.
Replying to the councillor, Dublin City Council (DCC) said it no longer installs dog foul-specific bins, but will assess the location to see if it is suitable for a standard litter bin.
A spokesperson for DCC said that due to their “limited capacity”, dog foul bins tend to be filled very quickly, requiring more resources from the authority to empty them.
"The standard public litter bins serve the exact same purpose with multiple times the capacity and dog fouling can now be deposited in any of our litter bins,” the spokesperson said.
The last dog fouling-specific bin the council installed was in 2016, they added.
While no more dog fouling bins are being installed, the council said it does not have an “active policy” of removing them unless they are damaged or it has issues servicing them.
The authority has 58 dog fouling bins in operation around the city at present, with their removal at the discretion of the local area inspector.
“If a dog fouling bin was damaged and required removal tomorrow then the local area Inspector would be required to assess the area and also indicate if a replacement standard bin was required,” the spokesperson said.
"Due to the size and nature of dog fouling bins which were typically erected on poles it may not be possible to install a standard litter bin at that same location as these have to be bolted into solid ground.”
The inspector may decide that due to the presence of other bins in the area, no additional replacement is required.
Figures for how many dog foul bins have been removed, and how many have been replaced with standard bins, are not available, said the spokesperson.
The news comes in the midst of the council’s “No more rubbish excuses” ad campaign, which touts 3,500 public bins in the city and an expanding roster of cleaning staff and equipment.
Speaking at the campaign launch last month, DCC’s executive manager of environment, Derek Kelly, said: “The systems are in place, and the excuses are gone.
"It is now up to everyone who lives in, works in, and visits Dublin to take personal responsibility and dispose of their litter properly.”