Wheelie bins are causing confusion and problems for many Dublin residents.
A spokesman for Dublin Corporation said 115,000 households now had black (dark grey) bins. A further 10,000 have yet to receive them. About 25,000 residents in the inner city will remain on bag collection.
Green recycling bins have been issued to almost 40,000 households, with a target of 70,000 by the end of the year. Brown bins, for food and garden waste, will be issued in 18 months to two years.
Smaller bins can be requested, but demand is outstripping supply. A spokesman for Dublin Corporation admitted it was experiencing problems obtaining enough of the smaller bins.
A resident on Clonskeagh Road said: "We live in a terraced house with a small front garden, where we keep the large bin. We have to squeeze around the bin to get in and out. Passers-by are using it as a litter bin, throwing food containers and empty beer cans into it. "In the letter telling us how nice it would be, we were threatened with two more bins - a green and a brown one."
She and many of her neighbours have requested but not yet received smaller bins. "The larger bins came out of the blue. They were foisted on us - we weren't given a choice." The wheelie bin service costs £95, with the first payment due on June 30th. The bin bag service costs £65.
In Fingal Street, Dublin 8, residents received a bill for £65 last week. One resident said there was "nothing specific on the bill about the service being rendered. You had to read the leaflet to find out it would be bag collection. We were not told if bags would be issued."
The corporation spokesman said bags would not be issued for general refuse collection, although it may use clear plastic bags for recycling.
In the Harolds Cross Cottages area, a recent one-month trial of "communal Euro bins" failed. The bins, which were placed against the gable end of some cottages, migrated at night, said resident Ms Janet Stafford. They were used as skips and were overflowing well before collection day each week, she said. The residents are back to bag collections. Ms Dorothy Gallagher, of the Consumers' Association of Ireland, said the charges should be reversed, with bags costing more than bins, as it was more difficult to collect them.