Old Laois bins as ‘useful as an ashtray on a motorbike’ must be on par with Portlaoise

All parts of Laois should have public litter bins of the same standard as the expensive compactor bins in Portlaoise.

That was the demand made to Laois County Council officials at a recent meeting where the issue of bin replacement was raised for communities in south and west Laois.

Cllr James Kelly, Independent, tabled a motion calling on the council to implement a litter bin replacement programme throughout the Borris in Ossory/Mountmellick Municipal Area for what he said were "damaged and not fit-for-purpose bins".

He claimed older bins have an ashtray and have now become almost useless.

“They are as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike,” said Cllr Kelly.

He said bins have gone on fire in Mountrath because cigarette buts are being thrown into them. He said a local business has had to put out fires in a public bin outside the premises on a number of occasions.

“I think it is important that we get proper bins in place,” he suggested.

He added that they also be placed in the correct location.

Cllr John King, Fine Gael, contrasted Portlaoise with the rest of the county.

“Portlaoise seems to have got the funding to lead the way on bins…each town should have modern bins to show that smaller towns are on par with the county town,” he said.

He highlighted problems with litter around fast food restaurants in Rathdowney. 

Cllr Ollie Clooney, Independent,  also wants bins upgraded saying the old bins cause problems.

“These old bins don’t work at all…what Portlaoise got should be in all the areas. There is no point in replacing the old bins (with the same type) because they cause more litter,” he said.

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Edmond Kenny, District Engineer, replied in writing.

“Litter bins are only replaced when the condition of the existing bins necessitates replacement. Laois County Council are actively monitoring the condition of the bins to ensure renewals are completed on a timely basis,” he said.

Donal Kelly, Director of Services, contributed. He said he was aware of the problems highlighted in Durrow. He added that Tidy Towns committees say litter bins can be abused. As for replacing bins, Mr Kelly said the council would see what it could do about damaged bins if notified.

The issue was raised at the May 2023 meeting of the Borris-in-Ossory Mountmellick Municipal District.

A meeting of the same district in 2019 was told that under a since-closed Urban Regeneration Fund, the number of Portlaoise compactor bins was increased to 50. Mr Brennan told councillors at the meeting that each bin costs thousands of euro.