Clondalkin Green Machine street cleaners back in action after a year

AFTER OVER a year of absence due to difficulties in the availability of replacement parts for maintenance, the Green Machine street cleaners are back in action in Clondalkin.

Since 2025, Councillor Eoin Ó Broin has been asking SDCC for updates regarding the return of the street cleaners to Clondalkin, which were reinstated just this month.

Cllr Ó Broin told The Echo that he first highlighted the issue in November 2024 but discovered that the Green Machine that was assigned to Clondalkin has been out of operation for years, with the new machines arriving 18 months after the issue was first raised.

To replace these Green Machines, members of SDCC maintenance team were using large suction road sweepers and micro sweepers to ensure there was no build-up of litter on the streets.

Although these machines ensure to adequately clean the streets, they are becoming more difficult to maintain due to the lack of available spare parts, which led to the long-term absence of them in Clondalkin this past year.

SDCC noted last year that efforts were being made to decarbonise the fleet of street cleaners that are used by the council’s maintenance team – this included the purchase of green machines which are powered by electricity.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme