Time for Overhaul of Waste Management System in Dublin

• Growing frustration among residents groups about waste failure in the city.
• We need re-municipalisation and a single waste operator for Dublin.

Following on from a public meeting on Dublin’s waste management problem, Labour’s Senator Marie Sherlock has said it’s becoming increasingly clear that the time has now come for a comprehensive overhaul of how waste is managed across Dublin. Pride of Place groups, Tidy Towns organisations and local environmental campaigning groups from across the inner city and the urban villages beyond that are making it very clear that the existing system of waste management in Dublin is not working.

The meeting, hosted by Senator Sherlock, took place on Tuesday night in Barbara Ward Clonliffe Community Centre with residents and local Pride of Place and Tidy town groups from Ballybough, Clonliffe Road, Drumcondra and Phibsborough where she outlined the urgent need for a national solution to what has become a deeply dysfunctional system at the local level.

Senator Sherlock said:

“It is clear to me that there is a serious dysfunction at the heart of how waste is managed in our city. Every day we see bin companies driving past waste strewn on our streets, the onus is put on residents to report illegal dumping and Dublin City Council (DCC) is effectively left to clean up the mess and provide the free recycling services. Ultimately we have a serious underinvestment in waste management in Dublin and the reality is, we’re all paying the price for a system that is failing.

“Local groups are expressing huge frustration about the lack of accountability and traceability of landlords and owner occupiers who do not have bin contracts in place.  Currently, some 3000 tonnes of illegally dumped waste are picked up by DCC each year.

“We have a few thousand households in our area who are deprived of a brown/compost collection even though it is the law since the start of the year that every household has such a collection. Those on the 900 streets across the city who have an exemption from bins and who rely on bags instead of bins are not being afforded a brown collection service as is the law and the bin collection companies seem to think these homes are exempt.

“Bin prices are set to increase next year because of changes to waste exporting laws on top of very significant price hikes in 2023 and crucially, there is no single body responsible for waste management in our city.  At present, DCC spends €71 million a year trying to keep our city clean and provide recycling facilities, but the question remains – is this really enough and more importantly, is this the best we can do? Unfortunately with bin companies creaming profits from bin collection, there is no re-investment of resources back into waste management to promote innovation in how waste is collected. We believe we need to see investment into share collection points, consideration of underground collection systems and crucially that we ensure that there is much communal recycling centres that also provide composting facilities.

“Local community groups have made remarkable efforts. Many people I speak with remind me of a time when road sweepers would travel with bin lorries, ensuring not only that the bins were collected, but that the streets were left clean in their wake.

“It’s time to radically rethink who is responsible for collecting our waste. Dublin needs a single operator for waste collection across the entire city and county. Only with a unified system can we ensure that there is accountability, consistency, and value for our community. We need greater regulation over costs and service quality, and we must take responsibility for the cleanliness of our streets. Waste collection is about more than just emptying bins – it’s about keeping our city liveable.

“We cannot allow the dysfunction to continue. Dublin deserves a clean, well-maintained city, and the current patchwork system of private bin companies and local authorities simply isn’t delivering. We need to overhaul waste management from the ground up and create a system that is efficient, accountable, and fair. Our communities deserve better, and I will continue to press for meaningful reform. It’s time to move beyond the status quo and ensure a cleaner, brighter future for Dublin.”