Authorities running a ‘reverse register’ to detect Louth homes not using a bin company

By Olivia Ryan, The Drogheda Independent

Over 16% of homes in one County Louth housing estate are not registered with a refuse collection service, it emerged at the monthly meeting of Louth County Council.

Cllr. Ciaran Fisher highlighted a pilot project which has begun in Castleross, Dundalk. where it was identified that 16.5% of households in this area “do not have a kerbside waste collection.”

The council’s Waste Enforcement Team are corresponding with each household identified in the survey, but in the Chief Executive’s monthly report it was confirmed that “engagement has been poor.”

Cllr. Fisher queried how this pilot project will work.

Director of Services, David Hanratty, told the meeting that the council are running a “reverse register” to uncover where households are not using a registered waste collector.

He explained that there is an obligation for householders to provide proof of what they do with their waste.

If they cannot provide evidence of being registered with refuse collection company, they must provide receipts for bringing segregated waste to a civic amenity site, or show agreement that they share a service with a family member or other registered user.

Where none of these are provided as evidence, the council can issue a Fixed Penalty Notice, said Mr. Hanratty.

He added that although no FPN’s have issued in Castleross as yet, these have been applied in other areas.

Cllr. James Byrne also asked if the council can look into cases where a private bin is “left lying out on the street for months on end.”

The Director of Service said bylaws cover how long bins can be left on the street. If there are particular incidences of this happening, he asked Cllr. Byrne to bring these to the attention of the Waste Enforcement Team.

He added that the council have issued FPN’s to people who leave bins “on the street for extended periods.”

Cllr. Robbie Nash asked if there are rules around collection times for private bins as “they seem to be getting earlier and earlier in estates where collections could be at 4am or 5am.”

He added that the Frostival festival in Dundalk was “a massive success” but said it was “disappointing to see bins overflowing in the town during the festival.”

Mr. Hanratty said collection times for private bins were governed by licence, which he understood was around 7am for residential areas.

Commercial collections could happen as early as three or four in the morning, as the same restrictions do not apply.

He agreed that overflowing bins during the festival were “never a nice thing to see” and committed to reviewing the clearing of bins during busy public events.