Dublin's Bin Scavenging Costs €500,000 Annually, Linked to Organised Gangs and Vulnerable Individuals
Dublin businesses report organised gangs and vulnerable people scavenge bins for recyclables, costing Dublin City Council €500,000 annually for clean-up. This issue, prevalent since Ireland's Deposit Return Scheme began two years ago, strains city resources. Re-turn hopes education and widespread use of reverse vending machines will mitigate the problem over time.
Dublin city centre businesses report that organised gangs and vulnerable individuals are scavenging bins for recyclable bottles and cans. This activity cost Dublin City Council €500,000 last year for clean-up efforts.
Since Ireland implemented a refundable deposit fee on drinks containers two years ago, bin scavenging has become common. RTÉ News observed numerous individuals, including Nerijus Bogucianskas, who is homeless and struggles with alcoholism, searching bins. Bogucianskas, who collects about €4 worth of recyclables by lunchtime after starting at 5 am, stated he feels shame but sees it as better than begging. He competes with many others for containers, noting, «There’re more pickers than bins.»
Dublin City Council's Waste Management Inspector, Robert Edwards, highlighted that three hours of a 24-hour cleaning cycle are now dedicated to addressing «bin interference.» This problem, initially affecting smaller street bins, has expanded to commercial wheelie bins, with bags being pulled out and bins tipped over. Edwards noted that scavengers often know bin collection schedules better than staff, causing significant resource drain, especially on weekends.
Martin Harte, CEO of the Temple Bar Company, believes there is an organised element, with groups using keys to target bins rapidly. Ciaran Foley, CEO of Re-turn, which operates the Deposit Return Scheme, acknowledged this issue is common in European cities. He emphasized that the scheme aims to prevent bottles and cans from entering bins at all, encouraging use of over 2,800 reverse vending machines, many with a charity donation option. Foley hopes education will reduce bin usage over time, as seen in other European schemes. He also clarified that bin surrounds, a pilot program with 130 units in Dublin, are only removed in areas attracting more general rubbish and could be expanded.