‘Costly’ figure of €3m to clean up nitrous oxide canisters

The Government has been criticised after “costly” figures released showed they will spend €3 million to clean up nitrous oxide canisters nationwide this year.

Figures released from the Oireachtas Committee on Finance show that the Government will spend €3.01m on the waste management of nitrous oxide canisters in 2026, an increase of nearly €1m on last year’s allocation.

The sight of empty ‘laughing gas’ canisters and silver whippet canisters can often be seen littered in all kinds of public places around Clondalkin, Tallaght and many other parts of South Dublin, as well as the wider county.

Dublin Mid-West TD Mark Ward noted that the costly issue of cleaning up these canisters is “only the tip of the iceberg.”

Deputy Ward said: “The government spent €2.05m last year to dispose of 64,000 large canisters and 96,000 silver bullets.

“This year they expect these figures to be 75,000 and 30,500 respectively, costing an additional €0.96m. This brings the total figure to over €3m.

“This is only the tip of the iceberg; this is only the cost of disposing of canisters seized by customs.

“This does not include the canisters collected by local authorities and private waste companies.”

He also noted that the environmental impact of the canisters has caused concern among those who clean them up.

Deputy Ward stated that he attended a meeting in February organised by the Chartered Institute of Waste Management and Veolia that centred on the problems with disposing of these canisters.

In this meeting, he noted that he was shown an exploded canister and was informed of their capability to do so in waste processing centres.

The TD said: “I was shown a canister that had exploded. To date, €65m worth of damage to these centres across Europe has been caused.

“I heard at the meeting several incidents of explosions in Ireland due to nitrous oxide canisters.”

The Dublin Mid-West Dáil representative had a bill delayed until October at the start of the year that called for the regulation of the sale of these canisters.

Many of the canisters often seen are intended for use in restaurant and café kitchens to help the production of whipped cream, cocktails and other culinary creations.

As a result of their use in professional kitchens, these products are available through wholesale purchases.

However, it’s become clear that they have been used for much more than desserts and drinks, and the empties have become a common sight for those tasked with and volunteering to keep our towns and villages clean.

“You need only walk down any street or through any housing estate across the state and you will see discarded canisters on the ground.

“This issue and cost would not arise if the government would regulate the sale of nitrous oxide.

“They could have done this by supporting my bill…figures released [Wednesday, March 4] show that this is a costly delay.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.