Dublin is facing a growing problem of litter on the city’s streets, which is caused when animals, such as seagulls, tear open plastic rubbish bags.
Areas in the Irish capital that have so far been allowed to collect waste in bags include around 1,000 streets. Until recently, establishments in these streets were exempt from the obligation to use trash cans, and they were allowed to dispose of their waste in plastic bags and leave them in front of the premises.
In response, the city authorities decided to implement measures aimed at improving the cleanliness of the city, and one of the measures is the ban on the use of plastic bags in 90 streets of the Central Commercial District.
The provision that prevents commercial premises from leaving their waste in plastic bags partially entered into force on September 16 this year, and full compliance with it is expected by January 1, 2025.
“Dublin is not the ‘dirty old city’, but for too long commercial premises have been allowed to display their rubbish in plastic bags,” said Mayor Jaime Gaggen, adding that rubbish collection companies will provide more flexible solutions for restaurants and shops which will no longer be allowed to they take bags of waste to the street. Thus, households and establishments in the Central Commercial District will be able to hand over waste seven days a week from five in the afternoon until 10 in the morning the next day.
The city authorities intend to implement a waste awareness campaign to bring about a change in culture and public behavior, while as part of a wider campaign they will explore all possibilities to prevent littering. One of the ways to achieve that goal is to reduce the use of plastic bags for waste disposal, and the plan is to test the efficiency of common storage areas for waste in residential areas, the city’s statement added.
More employees in city cleanliness
An additional measure for a cleaner city is the employment of another 100 operatives in cleaning and garbage collection services.
These reinforcements will increase the number of staff in each of the three teams working in the center which will allow a total of 150 employees to cover the shifts from 6 am to 9 pm, all seven days a week. After the new staff is fully trained and familiar with the service requirements, garbage collection in the city center will be available 24 hours a day.
In addition to increasing human resources, the city is investing 8.5 million euros in the improvement and upgrading of the vehicle fleet for waste management. Among other things, the new vehicles include 30 electric side loaders, and the city will also acquire specialized machines for cleaning bicycle paths. All these measures represent an important step in the improvement of city cleaning and maintenance services, according to the city administration.
Milena Maglovski
Source: energetskiportal.rs
