DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL is set to trial recycling trays on public bins to “reduce and discourage people going through bins in search of plastic bottles and aluminium cans”.

Some people have been collecting bottles and cans from public bins in order to get money back since the Deposit Return Scheme was introduced in February. 

In a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson said “Dublin City Council Waste Management Services is close to trialling a potential solution to mitigate and discourage this behaviour”.

The spokesperson added that this “addition to the selected street litter bins will hopefully be on streets in September as we await production timelines, branding and fitting”.

Green Party and Dublin City councillor Michael Pidgeon said the council is set to roll out 60 as a trial across the city centre.

Speaking to The Journal, Pidgeon said such recycling trays are seen in many places across Europe where deposit schemes are in place.

“You’ll see this probably most clearly in Berlin, where people will often leave glass bottles which are part of the scheme beside bins,” said Pidgeon.

“It means that people who go around looking to reclaim the unclaimed income can pick them up safely.”

Pidgeon remarked that it seems that there are “some people here who are essentially scavenging through the bins”

“Personally, I don’t really mind if people do that,” said Pidgeon, “but what is a problem is that they’re reaching their hands into bins where they can’t see what’s in there.

“Sometimes there are needles or sharp or unpleasant things in the bin.”

And while Pidgeon said this isn’t a “dominant thing”, he remarked that there have been a small number of cases of “people taking bags apart or dumping litter out of bins”.

“With all that in mind, we’re looking at lessons from other European countries and a few others have gone with having rings around bins that people can place plastic bottles in,” said Pidgeon.

When are we getting something like this in Dublin @Feljin_J @Pidge @CByrneGreen ?

These ‘bottle rings’ are brilliant. No need for people to go through the bins looking for cans and bottles.

A natural next step for the return scheme. pic.twitter.com/MaKWSYLC5X

— Ola Løkken Nordrum (@OlaLN) August 2, 2024

“One or two are being tested in the Council depot and in the next couple of months, they will roll out about 60 across the core city centre to see if they work.

“If they don’t work, we can take them out fairly easily and it wouldn’t be a huge expense.”

Pidgeon said the scheme is about “safety first and foremost”.

“There have been City Council staff clearing out bins, who are trained, and they’ve still got needle pricks,” said Pidgeon.

“With that danger in mind, it’s just a case of trying to come up with a system that doesn’t put people at risk physically.

“It will also mean a reduction in people going through bins or pulling up the bags.”

Meanwhile, Pidgeon praised the speed at which this trial follows the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme.

“I’m glad the City Council is doing this because in the past, the approach would have been to undertake endless rounds of public consultation and trying to find the perfect solution of the abstract.

“But here, they’re just going to trial something and see if it works.

“You obviously can’t do that for big development projects, but you can for smaller things like this.”