A dispute over a logo on bin collection lorries in Drogheda, Co Louth has left about 9,000 households without waste collection for nearly a week.
Local councillor Mr Frank Godfrey told ireland.comthat Drogheda Borough Council is in partnership with a private company which supplies the council with waste collection lorries.
But, he said, council binmen are unhappy that these lorries are carrying the logo of the outsourced company, and want it removed.
In protest, old council lorries, which break down regularly, are being used now instead of the new outsourced vehicles.
Mr Godfrey said Drogheda is littered with rubbish strewn across the roads and streets because the collection lorries broke down last Tuesday. The town, he said, is facing a waste crisis.
But the problem is not simply over the logo, according to Mr Godfrey.
Just 1,000 out of 9,000 householders are paying their annual €256 collection fee to the local authority, and currently the Council is making a loss of €30,000 per week, he said.
"We have a serious crisis here in Drogheda as regards outstanding payments for bin collection. The service cannot continue without the payments.
"The real blame lies at the door of successive governments. The problem is the abolishment of rates, so local authorities are forced to impose a charge".
Spokesman for Drogheda Borough Council, Mr Brian Murphy, told ireland.comthat Drogheda's bin men had worked overtime since last Tuesday to collect the town's rubbish, and would continue tonight in an attempt to resume normal collection service by tomorrow morning.