Dublin City Council’s ban on businesses leaving their waste in plastic bin bags is unlikely to work, a veteran councillor has predicted. 

Businesses in around 90 streets between Dawson Street and Temple Bar can no longer leave their rubbish out in bin bags for collection - although a transition period will remain in place until January 1st. 

Any that continue to do so will then be fined €150. 

On The Hard Shoulder, independent Councillor Mannix Flynn said the council does need to “find a better way” of collecting waste from households and businesses that do not have space for a wheelie bin. 

“It’s unsightly, it’s being ripped apart by foxes, by seagulls and by individuals kicking it around the street at night. 

“It’s an appalling situation; the problem here is that we don’t have a plan. 

“We used to have a plan because Dublin City Council was in charge waste management and waste collection and we had all the trucks and all the bins. 

“But Dublin City Council, in its wisdom, decided to get rid of that situation and franchise the whole situation down to the private market.” 

Bins on a path in Dublin. Picture by: NCBI

Cllr Flynn said he had spoken to numerous businesses about the change and said many “have no idea what’s coming down that road.”

“Nobody has called a meeting of any of these particular individuals and decided what we’re going to do,” he said. 

“We were presented with this peculiar plan by the waste management centre in Dublin City Council on September 7th at the City Council meeting.” 

Future of waste disposal

Cllr Flynn said he and his colleagues did not have an opportunity to “dig down” into the details about how it would operate. 

“This is going to be rolled out to all the households - not just across Dublin - but across the country,” he said. 

“If you don’t have space for a wheelie bin in your garden or in your backyard, you simply cannot put a wheelie bin on the footpath nor a plastic bag. 

“So, this is the situation and we were years at this kind of thing and we still haven’t come up with a plan. 

“At the end of the day, all that’s happening here is that most of this rubbish is going down to the incinerator on the docks and being burnt.” 

Cllr Flynn said his heart “goes out” to businesses who are still trying to figure out how they can dispose of their waste without getting fined. 

“In my opinion, how can it work when we don’t have a plan?” he said.

Main image: Seagulls with a bin bag in Dublin. Picture by: Emma Tyrrell