More people dumping domestic rubbish in Dublin’s public bins, says council

An increasing number of Dubliners are dumping their domestic rubbish in public bins while a three-fold increase in waste has been detected in parks during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Dublin City Council.

Staff noticed at least two to three times more rubbish than normal being dumped in parks during the Covid-19 lockdown, the council said.

In addition, more people have started stuffing bags of domestic rubbish into public bins since movement restrictions were introduced earlier this year.

“There has been an increase in the practice of people stuffing bags of domestic refuse into the openings of our litterbins,” the council said.

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It added that this gives the impression that the bins have been left to overflow over a long period of time.

“In fact, these bins might only be quarter full. To offset this problem, Waste Management Services will continue to prioritise the emptying of our bins as frequently as possible. Our Parks Division are experiencing the same problem.”

The council added: “The extended period of fine weather and Covid restrictions have resulted in large numbers visiting parks in the area over recent weeks.

“Staff are spending a large portion of their working day collecting waste. We estimate conservatively that we are collecting two to three times the normal volume of waste we would be normally expect to in our parks.

“How we manage the collection and disposal of waste in the park is reviewed regularly, and additional Big Belly Bins will be installed over the coming weeks.”

The issue was raised at a June meeting of the council’s South East Area Committee by councillor Anne Feeney who asked for more frequent emptying of bins on streets and parks “as they are regularly overflowing, particularly at weekends”.