Dublin City Council has said that people rummaging through bins in search of bottles and cans cost it half a million euro last year, leaving already-collected rubbish scattered back across city streets.
A briefing document stated that the Deposit Return Scheme, operated by Re-turn, had forced council staff to clean up waste from city streets twice over, reports RTE.
Its waste management section estimated that three hours in every 24-hour cleaning cycle were being diverted to deal with what it described as “bin interference.”
The document said the council had placed bin surrounds on receptacles to encourage people to leave cans and bottles there, but that these had little impact and were instead being used for general litter including coffee cups, drink cartons and cigarettes, reports RTE.
A breakdown of costs showed Dublin City Council had spent more than €115,000 replacing locks on ‘Big Belly’ bins at a cost of €995 per receptacle.
The council had placed surrounds on a total of 110 bins at a cost of around €40,000, though this proved of limited use. It said there were ongoing daily costs from the scheme, with staff forced to remove torn bags, collect scattered waste, and return to areas already cleaned, reports RTE.
The briefing document said: “The estimated cost of this diverted staff and fleet time is approximately €351,000 per annum,” reports RTE.
The briefing, prepared earlier this year, said costs for Dublin City Council were already in the order of €857,000 and predicted a further €351,000 bill for 2026 as staff would continue to be diverted to clean up already-collected waste, reports RTE.
The document said: “These figures are indicative but represent a reasonable estimate of the direct costs currently being incurred … and are likely to continue unless a solution is reached to this problem,” reports RTE.
Dublin City Council said there were wider impacts including a “negative visual impact” on the streets of the capital and damage to the city’s reputation and image, with litter creating a reduced perception of safety and having a “potential impact on tourism and visitor experience,” reports RTE.
The local authority acknowledged the scheme had been successful on a wider scale, increasing recycling rates for plastic bottles and cans.
However, it said the impact in Dublin’s city centre had been limited with “no significant differences” in street sweepings collected, reports RTE.
The city council said the objectives of Re-turn were good but that it was creating “significant operational challenges,” with the primary issue arising from the fact that returnable bottles and cans had become a monetary commodity, creating an incentive for individuals to recover containers from public bins.
One suggestion put forward was to restrict access to deposit rebates to households with registered waste collection contracts, though the council admitted this was not a perfect solution as it would also limit access for some members of the public, reports RTE.
A spokesperson for Re-turn said the company was having ongoing discussions with Dublin City Council and was collaborating with the council, with their shared objective being cleaner streets, higher recycling rates and practical solutions that work for the city.
“Re-turn has supported the installation of bin surrounds in Dublin city centre and in other areas across the country to provide a dedicated place for people to leave eligible containers when they are away from home, rather than placing them in general waste bins,” the spokesperson added, reports RTE.
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