Latest news with #wasteservices
Irish Times
06-08-2025
- General
- Irish Times
One Night in Dublin ... out with the city's street cleaners: Smashed bottles, vomit, urine and worse
Discarded fast-food, pizza boxes, smashed bottles, burst black bags, vomit, blood, urine and human faeces – these are the staples strewn across the workplace of the capital's street cleaners as they start a weekend morning shift. It's 6am on Sunday. Drury Street, metres from Dublin's premier shopping thoroughfare Grafton Street, is ground zero for Dublin City Council 's army of sweepers, power-washers, sanitisers and vacuum-cleaners. 'This is the hotspot,' says Sean-Michael Larkin, the council's waste services manager. READ MORE This morning he is overseeing 38 cleaning operatives and drivers, bolstered by a number of contractors. 'Temple Bar was the hot spot. It is still very busy there, but since Covid this area is party central,' he says of the partially pedestrianised Drury Street and surrounding streets. Making his way towards Lower Stephen Street it is clear the aftermath of a weekend night in the capital is not only unsightly but potentially hazardous. There is a huge amount of broken glass – wine, beer and spirits bottles as well as smashed drinking glasses – along with discarded nitrous oxide canisters, congealing food and human waste. Sean-Michael Larkin manages a team of cleaners for Dublin City Council. Photograph: Dan Dennison 'That's more than likely kitchen waste,' says Larkin, gesturing to a mound of potato peelings and prawn shells. 'It's more than likely one of the private contractors [bin collectors] lifted an overflowing bin and it's spillage that DCC [Dublin City Council] will have to clean up.' Two council workers wearing bright yellow gilets sweep debris from the paths on to the road. Repeatedly Larkin stoops down to move bottles and cartons from ledges on to the road, for the oncoming 'Multihog'. Members of the street cleaning team at work in Dublin 1. Photograph: Dan Dennison The road will soon be swept by this 'machine sweeper', says Larkin. The 'Multihog' is a slow-moving vehicle that travels at about 8km-10km per hour with large rotating brushes that sweep then suck up all before it – glass, cans, chip-boxes or mashed-up pizza. Overhead and at ground level are seagulls with their relentless cacophony. 'They are a protected species. I have no idea why. But they are nightmare for us. They open everything,' says Larkin. At the turn to South William Street, by a well-known pizza spot, two gulls are pulling slices from a torn bag on the ground, throwing their heads back and swallowing their cold breakfast whole. Seagulls pose a huge problem for waste management in the city centre. Photograph: Dan Dennison 'They know their spots,' says Larkin. 'They have sampled every food on offer in the city. They know where they like to go.' It's 6.15am. The Multihog having already cleared this stretch, South William Street is now being power-washed. Neil Wrigley, night supervisor with PMAC stone and masonry cleaning contractors, describes what they have cleaned. Neil Wrigley is a contractor hired by Dublin City Council to pressure wash the streets overnight and into early morning. Photograph: Dan Dennison 'We are removing all the stains left from last night. There's been puke, pee, two pools of blood over there,' he says, pointing towards Castle Market. 'There was a human poo there,' he grimaces, looking towards the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre. 'We put a bit of pine in the hot water. It just makes the place smell better. The smell of urine is not nice. [ One Night in Dublin ... with the bouncers at Copper Face Jacks: Once you're gone, you're gone Opens in new window ] [ One Night in Dublin ... at the museum: A nocturnal walkabout at the Irish Museum of Modern Art Opens in new window ] 'We clean 44 streets over Saturday and Sunday – all over the northside and southside, with six vans.' Wrigley, who has been removing overnight filth from the streets for a decade, likes the work. 'There is great pride in getting the city back up and running. We see it every morning, the place, how bad it is and then how good we leave it,' he says. The council have their own wash teams too, says Larkin. There is 525 operational and 32 administrative staff in street-cleaning services, with crews out almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 'We run a night team, working from 10pm to 5.30am six nights a week – washing and street-cleaning. That is going up to seven nights a week. Another crew starts at 6am to 2pm and then another from 2pm to 10pm,' says Larkin. [ A night with the Dublin Fire Brigade: 'I didn't recognise my former colleague until he was pronounced dead' Opens in new window ] The team also includes drivers in larger sweeping and cleaning trucks, the Johnston 600s, and staff operating large sweeping/vacuuming machines known as 'madvacs' pushed and manoeuvred on footpaths. And then there are the crews emptying and re-bagging more than 3,200 bins across the city, of which just under 1,000 are within the 4km of the city-centre. Onwards towards Dame Street, there are multitudes of tourists already on the move. Dozens are gathered at the Molly Malone statue on Andrew Street, likely waiting for a tour bus, at about 6.30am. At Temple Bar Square Peter Flanagan is one of two operatives sweeping a sea of takeaway bags, cartons and other debris on to Fownes Street for removal by a Multihog. 'This is not too bad really,' says Flanagan. 'Some mornings it can be a hell of a lot worse. Sure you could have 100 bins there and they'd still throw it everywhere.' Up Crow Street, towards Dame Street and more bags filled with restaurant waste, including packaging, are split open. If the weather is good, there is often more rubbish to clean up. Photograph: Dan Dennison Larkin believes these may have been upended by people looking for empty cans and plastic bottles to exchange in the Re-Turn deposit scheme. 'I call them the Re-Turn entrepreneurs. It's a new issue we face,' he says. He is hopeful the removal of the derogation that allows city centre business use plastic bags to dispose of waste, from September, will reduce this spilt rubbish dramatically. 'They are a real issue for us. They are cheap and cheerful but they mean rubbish is everywhere,' he says. On Grafton Street, destitute people are sleeping in doorways as council staff sweep. 'We work around the homeless,' says Larkin. 'Once they are gone, we come back and remove the cardboard [on which many bed down] and any other waste. It is a sensitive issue but generally we have good relationship with them. There is a large human element to this work.' Shortly after 7am, back at Drury Street, Philip Clarke is sweeping up the last remnants of debris. Early morning on Drury Street. Photograph: Dan Dennison 'The wife says I am the best hooverer, the best floor washer,' he says, laughing. 'I had good naval training washing the decks. I was in the naval reserve for five years – got them decks shipshape and Bristol fashion.' On the same shift two weeks ago the street was 'a sea of glass ... there were cars doing U-turns ... they couldn't come up here,' he says. Asked why the scene was so bad he mentions high temperatures over the weekend of July 12th and 13th. 'The weather plays a big part. People come into town, drink, enjoy themselves. If the weather is good the mess the next day will be really bad,' he says. 'The worst thing that could happen would be if they extended the licensing hours. We'd never get in to clean up after them. 'Now, the clubs close around 3am and people are gone home by 4am so you have that window of opportunity. If nightclubs weren't closing until six in the morning, sure they'd still be in town when we're coming on. We'd never clean it.' In his job since 2001, he takes great pride in the work. 'When we come on it looks like a bomb is after hitting the place,' he says. After the team has cleaned Drury Street, Dublin. Photograph: Dan Dennison 'But in the space of two hours, the place is licked clean, ready to hand it back to the people.'
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Plans for new fire prevention system at Plymouth recycling centre
Planning consent is being sought for a new fire prevention and suppression system at Plymouth's largest recycling and waste Waste Services, which runs the Chelson Meadow facility for Plymouth City Council, said the risk of fires at such centres had "greatly increased" because of lithium batteries used in a multitude of products being documents stated a new automated system, Helios, would be used to identify heat spots before fires were noticeable to the human system could automatically deploy water cannons before a blaze could take hold and was designed to be used where sprinkler and spray water systems offered insufficient protection. Adverse noise impacts The planning documents stated the system utilised infrared heat detection cameras which monitored stockpiles. The system required some external plant and machinery to be installed, they said it did not anticipate the proposal, which was in an industrial area, would have adverse noise impacts on neighbours, with the closest property being located 300m (985ft) batteries were able to hold a powerful charge and, when damaged, could cause intense fires that were capable of reigniting because the batteries could effectively create their own oxygen, Biffa said. Six billion batteries Biffa is rolling out a multi-million pound investment programme of Helios fire suppression systems to minimise the risk at its waste management facilities across the its application, Biffa said about six billion batteries were thrown away in the last year nationwide - more than 3,000 a minute - with more than 1.1 billion of electricals potentially containing hidden lithium-ion batteries, such as laptops, mobile phones, electric toothbrushes, vapes and batteries could become crushed or damaged in bin lorries or waste sites if they were not recycled and could cause fires, bosses were more than 1,200 fires in the waste system in the last 12 months nationally, compared to 700 in 2022, they added.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
JP Morgan Maintains Neutral Rating on Republic Services (RSG), Lifts PT
On May 23, JP Morgan raised the price target on Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) from $229 to $275 and maintained a Neutral rating on the stock. The firm updated the price target after it resumed its coverage of the waste services sector. Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) has soared more than 26% on a year-to-date basis and is currently trading close to its 52-week high of $253.76. The noted that the company's risk-reward situation appears balanced. A fleet of trucks carrying recyclable materials, highlighting the company's transfer services. Earlier, on April 24, Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) reported its Q1 2024 results. The company posted better-than-expected EPS of $1.58 surpassing market expectations by $0.05. Revenue for the quarter grew 3.81% year-over-year, however, missed the consensus by $36.48 million. Management noted the topline was affected by sluggish cyclical volumes and challenging winter weather, however, the company grew its EBITDA by high single-digit despite the volatility. While we acknowledge the potential of RSG as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than RSG and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the . READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
£1.8m Barnsley bins boost in bid to cut delays and improve safety
Waste services in Barnsley could be in line for a funding boost of nearly £2m to avoid a repetition of problems earlier this year which saw 100,000 bin collections missed and others seriously were badly hit by poor weather in January and did not fully recover until April after the council spent £40,000 on more agency crews and hire proposed £1.8m of extra cash would pay for a further six crews per week and ensure rounds were finished each day, according to Barnsley Higginbottom, cabinet spokesperson for environment, said the plan, to be considered by councillors, "recognises we can't return to the level of disruption we saw earlier this year". According to the council, catching up took much longer than had been hoped due to changes to the waste service as part of the authority's recent safety was prompted by a coroner's recommendations following the death of a waste operative in another part of the the last three years, 70 collisions in Barnsley had involved waste vehicles, a spokesperson for the authority Be Safe, Work Safe, Target Zero initiative had made crews work slower, but had reduced the number of avoidable accidents, they added. 'Build resilience' Higginbottom said the council must remain "absolutely focused and committed" to health and safety."It's absolutely heartbreaking that elsewhere in the country people have lost their lives working in waste and recycling," Mr Higginbottom added."We won't be complacent or risk the welfare of our employees or the public."Meanwhile, the council said it was investing in technology in waste vehicles which would supply "real-time data and insights" on missed collections, blocked roads and other said it had also proposed that new brown and blue bins be supplied to residents in an effort to save individuals money on upsizing or replacing old would also result in additional income for the council from the government's recycling incentive schemes, the spokesperson members would be asked at a meeting on 28 May to approve the £1.8m investment to "support, rebalance and build resilience into the service so rounds can be completed at the end of each day", they said: "I'm delighted to support this investment which will help make sure our staff remain safe at work while also making sure residents receive the waste collection service they expect and deserve." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
New garden waste charge to be reviewed in Shropshire
A garden waste charge will be reviewed by the new Lib Dem administration at Shropshire the fee was introduced last autumn more than half the households in the council area have paid £56 to continue having their green bins charge was brought in by the previous Conservative administration to generate income and it has so far raised £ Heather Kid, the leader of the Lib Dem group which swept the Conservatives from power last week, said she wanted to look again at the way waste is collected. Kidd, the leader elect, said her party was "committed to reviewing the way that waste services are delivered, including looking at alternative models of operation for garden waste".That would include looking at how it can collect food waste from 2026, when it becomes mandatory for councils to do this, she said."We know that finances are tight, we feel there are other options we want to explore as part of a review," she people who had voted for new leadership at Shropshire Council in last weeks local elections were "rightly expecting change", she added. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
