Following a query from People Before Profit Dublin Mid-West TD Gino Kenny, private waste management company Thorntons Recycling have revealed that their annual bin charge of €50 will now be increased to a whopping €156 per year as of the 1st July.

In response to this revelation, Deputy Kenny said “This charge is regardless if you never put one single bin out all year and is on top of what you’re already paying for your black and brown bin charges. This is what happens when you privatise a vital public service and hand it over to greedy for-profit companies likes Thorntons and Greyhound, who are also apparently putting their charge up to 140 euro per year.”

“Many families on low incomes and struggling to make ends meet will not be able to afford this outrageous and totally unjust increase. The promises of privatisation that we would have an ‘efficient and cheaper service’ that would be ‘good for the environment’ have ended up with endless price hikes and a major littering problem while these companies make huge profits.”

“It’s inevitable that all other private waste companies will follow Thorntons and Greyhound’s example. That’s why we must immediately begin the process of returning our bin services to public ownership and control. I will be making this a massive issue in my capacity as TD and my People Before Profit colleagues in South Dublin County Council and Dublin City Council will be working hard to ensure this hike is resisted and overturned and the disastrous privatisation of bin services brought to an end.”