Alex Greaney
A new waste collection initiative is being rolled out across a number of streets in Dublin city centre in an attempt to tackle the scourge of burst rubbish bags.
Bags of rubbish are left on the streets of Dublin City every evening after 5pm. They are generated by people living or working in premises with no room for conventional bins. These are at the mercy of seagulls, vermin, and the elements of the weather, often resulting in burst bags with litter scattered across the city making it unpleasant for pedestrians and residents. These bags are then collected anytime before 4am the following morning.
In response to this Dublin City Council is supporting a new ‘BagBin’ initiative to remove unprotected plastic waste bags being left for collection on certain streets in the city-centre.
The Council has been engaging with the four Waste Collection companies that provide waste services to customers in the Dublin City Council Central Business District to provide the new service.
Dublin City Council, the business representative group DublinTown and the four Waste Collectors are embarking on the new initiative together.
Going forward, businesses on the streets affected will use the BagBin collapsible receptacle. Bagbin, a collapsible waste container that protects refuse sacks, was trialled at 86 residential and commercial locations over eight months from October 2021 to April last year by Dublin City Council.
More than 80 per cent of residential users and 60 per cent of businesses who responded to a council survey question said they would prefer to keep the Bagbin than return to the use of bags only. Bagbins were created by Owenbridge Ltd, a company founded by husband and wife John and Mena Dunne.
The aim is to remove the current unsatisfactory situation with waste bags presented on high footfall streets.
A council report found the product, which can be used in areas lacking space for wheelie bin storage, achieved the “required result of reducing litter from ripped bags provided it is used properly”.
Karl Mitchell, the Council Director of Services said that Dublintown, the business representative group, the Council, and the waste collectors are “embarking on a service that should eliminate the requirement for presenting unprotected waste bags on street”.
“The ‘BagBin’ collapsible receptacle initiative which was successfully trailed over several months from October 2021 to April 2022 has been refined to create as robust a solution as possible to remove the current unsatisfactory situation with waste bags presented across high footfall streets,”
This service is being introduced on a phased basis to all customers who are currently presenting plastic waste bags in Dublin City. Phase 1 is being introduced to the following streets in Dublin City Central Business District:
Grafton Street
South William Street
Exchequer Street
Drury Street
Castlemarket Street
The bins form a cylindrical shape, with a hinged lid and no bottom when deployed. Users place the bin on the ground and put their bags inside. The waste collector lifts the bin off, collapses it, and takes away the bags.
These Bagbins are useful for places where there is not enough room to store or put out a standard wheelie bin. Bagbins are collapsible, easy to use, and smaller than traditional bins.
This initiative will be reviewed on an ongoing basis by the City Council, DublinTown, and the Waste Collection companies
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