Cllr Daithi Doolin with new Ballyfermot bins
New solar bins are bad news for seagulls in Ballyfermot
BINS on the Ballyfermot Road have been replaced with solar compactor bins in recent weeks, in a bid to prevent seagulls from scattering food waste across the street, reports Ellen Gough.
Following a request from Cllr Daithí Doolin, Dublin City Council’s waste management teams replaced a number of open-top bins on the Ballyfermot Road to prevent access by seagulls “in the coming weeks”.
The Sinn Fein councillor has asked the council to explore replacing “open bins along Ballyfermot Road with closed top bins to prevent seagulls accessing food waste and adding to rubbish along shop fronts” at the June meeting of Dublin City Council South Central Area meeting.
He previously told The Echo that many Ballyfermot residents had raised the issue of the seagulls.
“There’s a lot of takeaways along the road in Ballyfermot, people are going to get a takeaway, they put it in the bin, and the seagulls take it out.
“It’s unhealthy, it’s unsightly, it’s not welcoming, and it’s not good for business,” he said.
The solution from the council to replace the more open bins with Bigbelly bins – which are fully enclosed and are generally opened using a foot pedal – “ticks all the boxes short, mid and long term solution” for Cllr Doolan.
“Simply, the seagulls can’t get into the bins, because no matter how often you clean that street, it will all be full of bits of food wrappers, plastic from the sandwiches, if the seagulls can get into it,” he said.
Sharing a picture of himself with one of the newly installed closed-top bins earlier this month, Cllr Doolin said he was “delighted to see that Dublin City Council South Central Area took action”.
“These bins will prevent seagulls from pulling food and waste out on to the footpath and will also prevent rubbish overflowing on to the footpaths,” he said.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
