Commercial premises in Dublin city centre area to be banned from leaving their waste out in plastic bags.
The new rules will begin in the south city centre in two weeks time and come fully into force there by 1 January 2025.
The council says its one of a number of changes to help clean up Dublin city and is in response to the increasing activity and footfall in the area.
Barry Woods, Head of Waste Management with Dublin City Council, told the council’s monthly meeting that 90 streets that lie between the Dublin City Council Civic offices and the Grafton Street area will be part of the first roll out of the scheme, which includes up to 1,500 businesses.
He said the council met the three waste companies that operate in the area to talk about the alternative methods that commercial premises could use to dispose of their waste.
Mr Wood said the use of plastic bags to dispose of commercial waste is causing significant litter problems due to bags being pulled open by vermin and seagulls.
He also said that since the introduction of the RETURN scheme, members of the public opening bags looking for plastic bottles had become a significant for those trying to keep the city scheme.
The recruitment of 100 new staff, an €8.5m investment in the waste departments fleet of vehicles and the appointment of extra litter wardens at night are among the other measures being introduced to help clean up the city centre.
The council will also widen by 32% the area of the city centre that receives a 24-hour cleaning service, which will see areas like Gardiner Street, Smithfield and Baggot Street getting round the clock cleaning for the first time.
CCTV to monitor littering will also be rolled out in the coming weeks.
Mr Woods also said the changes would be accompanied by an advertising campaign to encourage better behaviour and highlight the sanctions for littering.
“There is half a million people in the city and we can’t control their action. This is perhaps the biggest challenge we face today is changing peoples behaviour and peoples culture”
Last year Dublin City Council collected 18,000 tonnes of litter through public litter bins. 440 staff currently work for the service and the Council empty 3500 public bins in the Dublin City Council area on a daily basis.
