Bin bags will be banned from use on streets across Dublin’s north inner city from Monday, with fines to come into force in weeks, following the installation of large on-street waste compactors.
Residents and businesses on 110 streets in an area stretching east-west from Amiens Street to Church Street and south-north from the Liffey quays to Dorset Street will no longer be able to present plastic refuse sacks for collection, and must use the new compactors or make alternative arrangements with their waste collection companies.
The north inner city is persistently rated by Irish Business Against Litter (Ibal) as the dirtiest area in the State, with high levels of illegal dumping.
Waste compactors, similar in size to small caravans, are this week being installed at Marlborough Place, between Marlborough Street and Talbot Street, and at Loftus Lane, close to Capel Street and Parnell Street.
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The sealed containers are approximately 4m long and nearly 2.5m tall. The waste drum can only be opened by those with access cards and will not be available to the general public. Businesses and residents on the 110 streets have been issued with cards by their waste companies to allow them to use the compactors.
Those who do not want to use the compactors can choose to use wheelie bins, or make arrangements with their waste collector to have rubbish collected directly from their premises. However, they will no longer be allowed to place plastic bags on the street.
“Our litter enforcement teams are currently engaging with businesses and residents in the affected area to inform them of the upcoming changes and encourage compliance,” Dublin City Council said. “A short transition period will be allowed; however, following this, the bylaws will be strictly enforced, and noncompliance may result in prosecution.”
Businesses and residents who fail to comply face fines ranging from €150 to €4,000 on conviction.
The bin bag ban is already in place on 90 streets on the southside of the city, with compactors installed at St Stephen’s Green and in Temple Bar last October. The council said this has resulted in a reduction of illegal dumping by approximately 20 tonnes per month.
Legislation requiring the use of bins instead of refuse sacks came into force in 2016, but thousands of Dublin residents and businesses on more than 900 streets were given a derogation from the rule because their properties were unsuitable for wheelie bins.
This mostly affected streets in the city centre, or inner suburbs with no gardens or direct rear access. However, the council has long sought to rid the city of plastic waste sacks which are frequently torn apart by seagulls, vermin and household pets, resulting in litter-strewn streets. Since the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme bags have also been ripped open by people searching for plastic bottles and cans to retrieve 15 and 25 cent deposits.
From July the bin bag ban will be extended to the northside suburbs of Stoneybatter and Smithfield. Early next year the ban will be in place in any residential areas south of the city where bags are still in use. On-street compactors are not planned for use in these areas, the council’s head of waste management Barry Woods said.
“The initial conversations we’re having with the waste collectors is that they don’t feel the need for this communal waste collection. They are going to promote a reusable receptacle, a wheelie bin or a caddie for all the customers in those areas.”
The council hopes bin bags will no longer be in use in any part of the city from mid-2027, Woods said.
