John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

397. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to compel county councils which are responsible for waste to compel waste collectors to secure green bins (details supplied) through the provision of locking mechanisms; his plans to encourage local authorities to introduce by-laws to encourage householders to fit locking mechanisms in order to ensure that during inclement windy weather these bins, if toppled, do not end up causing widespread littering; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38473/18]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Each local authority has discretion to draw up its own bye-laws on waste presentation in accordance with: the Local Government Act, 2001 (legislation which is under the remit of my colleague the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government); Section 35 of the Waste Management Act, 1996 and Section 21 of the Litter Pollution Act, 1997 (if necessary). The power to adopt such by-laws is a reserved function.

While the power to make a bye-law and its actual content remain matters exclusively for each individual local authority, it is Government policy that a regionalised approach to both waste management planning and regulatory enforcement is adopted. Accordingly, the three Regional Waste Management Offices were established in 2013, with formation of the Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authorities (WERLAs) following in 2015.

One of the priority tasks contained in the three Regional Waste Management Plans 2015-2021 was to commence a project to attain a more unified approach to the content and making of waste presentation bye-laws.

A Template for a Bye-law on Waste Presentationhas been prepared by the three Regional Waste Management Offices and circulated to local authorities with a view to standardising such by-laws across the State. The template does not contain a provision concerning the fitting of a locking mechanism to kerbside bins, however, it does contain a specific provision in relation to the maintenance and management of waste containers so as not to be a source of nuisance or litter, as well as provisions on the storage and presentation of waste containers.

An example of such draft bye-laws which were the subject of a public consultation (closed on 17 September, 2018) is available at: .