Businesses and residents on 90 streets in Dublin’s south inner city face fines in the new year if they continue to leave bin bags on the street.
From January 1st, plastic waste sacks will be banned from use in the area around Grafton Street and Temple Bar.
Dublin City Council announced the ban three months ago, but said just 30 per cent of properties have switched to wheelie bins or larger refuse bins.
The council said that if bags continue to be presented for collection from New Year’s Day, litter wardens will be calling into businesses to warn them. “If the practice continues, fines will be issued in accordance with the relevant bylaws”. Businesses and residents who fail to comply faces fines of €150 to €4,000 on conviction.
Despite the low numbers switching to bins, the council said it will extend the bag ban to the north inner city from the second quarter of 2025, focusing on the area around Henry Street and Abbey Street.
Legislation requiring the use of bins instead of refuse sacks came into force in 2016 but residents and businesses on more than 1,000 streets in Dublin were given a derogation from the rules because their properties were unsuitable for bins. Streets in the city centre or inner suburbs with no front gardens or no direct back access were mostly affected.
However, the use of bin bags is seen as a big contributor to the city’s litter problem, with the bags frequently ripped apart by vermin, seagulls, foxes and household pets.
The council has trialled a number of solutions, including the use of collapsible bins, but several months ago decided to put the onus on the waste collection companies to determine the most appropriate waste receptacle for their customers to replace bags.
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The council said it has been told that the take-up of bins on the 90 streets, which includes Grafton Street, Temple Bar, College Green, Dame Street, Exchequer Street, Fleet Street, Aungier Street, Baggot Street Lower, Chatham Street, Kildare Street, Molesworth Street, Nassau Street, Parliament Street and surrounding areas, has now reached 30 per cent.
While this was described by waste collection companies as a “significant” increase on the previous use of bins, the council said it had been advised by those firms “that the use of reusable receptacles has been maximised at this point”.
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Where properties cannot accommodate bins, some private collectors are offering alternative services. Greyhound Recycling said it is trialling a system where customers call ahead to arrange a collection time so bags can be deposited directly in waste lorries and not left on the street. Others, including Panda, are hoping to establish a location near St Stephen’s Green for a waste compactor to which customers could bring their bags.
Once bags have been eliminated from the city centre the council said it will move to end their use in inner suburbs. It is still exploring a number of solutions for residential areas including communal storage as well as products which replace or protect plastic bags on the kerbside.
