COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF LUCAN / PALMERSTOWN / NORTH CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

MOTION NO. 14

MOTION: Councillor N. Fennell

This committee calls on the council to consider installing bins in the Quarryale & Irishtown park area due to lack of public bins facilities in the area.

REPORT:

The provision of litter bins is carried out in accordance with the Litter Bin Installation Protocol as set out in the Litter Management Plan.  The purpose of litter bin installation protocol is to address the following issues with the overall objective of improving the cleanliness of the county:

• Ensure litter bins are of an attractive and robust design, fit for purpose and placed in the right locations.
• Clear criteria against which litter bin requests can be assessed.

In order to optimise resources and ensure that bins are provided in the most cost-effective manner, while ensuring that they deliver maximum service, it is important to establish the principles of where litter bins will / will not be provided. This will ensure the most effective use is made of budgets for provision and ongoing maintenance. It is neither desirable nor effective to simply provide litter bins on a request basis. This protocol aims to set out the basic principles for litter bin placement to provide consistency and appropriate coverage in all parts of the county. This should provide greater understanding of litter bin provision and inform requests for new litter bins.

Locations where requests for bins should receive priority for litter bin placements are:

• Town and village centres
• Vicinity of shops such as newsagents, food retailers, supermarkets
• Areas where people congregate e.g. bus stops, tram stops, post offices, public service buildings / offices
• Main routes to schools
• Larger parks greater than 16 hectares in size e.g. in the vicinity of playgrounds and dog runs. Capacity of the location to facilitate safe access for maintenance vehicles (side loader) will be considered in all cases.

Locations that are not considered suitable for litter bin as they tend to attract dumping, vandalism are:

• Residential areas with no mixed usage, especially cul-de-sac type developments, as they attract dumping of household waste around the litter bins
• Parks less than 16 hectares in size where located in residential areas, unless some demonstrable demand exists that cannot be met by bin placement on street.

In managing this service, the Council is mindful of all costs when considering requests for new bins. These include not just the initial purchase and installation cost but must also have regard to the ongoing maintenance and servicing costs for each new bin. Where a request is received for a new/replacement litter bin, each location will be assessed having regard to the criteria set out above, as well as the existing provision of litter bins nearby i.e. within 400m.

As part of the improvement works taking place in Quarryvale Park, new bins will be provided in the park.