The new tag system means bins issued with a red notice won’t get collected
The new Belfast City Council tagging system is allegedly highlighting “long-standing problems” with bins in certain parts of the city.
A property manger from Belfast has said the new ‘traffic light’ warning system launched by the council for bins in the city has shone a light on issues that have been a problem in certain parts of the city for years, such as households stealing bins and using those of their neighbours.
They have said that due to the new system, people who have been putting their bins out properly could find them not being collected due to the actions of others. The bin tagging system will see tags put on bins that are overflowing or broken, with residents receiving an orange warning before a red one which means a bin will not be collected.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, the property manager said that while they understand how the system could work very well in certain parts of Belfast, in other more populated areas it may need a slightly more nuanced approach.
They said: “In certain parts of Belfast, particularly in the more densly populated areas of South Belfast, there have been long-standing issues with bins such as people stealing them from other households, using other people’s bins when their ones are full and some properties not having enough bins to dispose of their waste properly.
“Now with the new bin tagging system, these issues are being highlighted even more because when they take place people are having to deal with their bins not being collected. Someone could put their bin out without any issue, but if someone decides to put more rubbish into it now the bin won’t be collected despite the residents doing nothing wrong.
“Recently I have seen some bins receive a red tag even though you can clearly see that a nearby takeaway has used their bin to try and get rid of waste. This becomes a bigger issue in streets with alleygates as residents have to leave their bins beside each other at the entrance leaving them with less control over who can access their bins compared to households that leave bins alone at the front of their houses.
“While I understand the new tagging system may work very well in some parts of the city, in others I think it needs a more nuanced approach.”
SDLP councillor Gary McKeown said waste and bin issues are a constant concern for residents in his area and said that many of the underlying problems regarding it need to be dealt with urgently.
He said: “I am contacted on an ongoing basis by residents living in areas such as Stranmillis village, the lower Lisburn Road and the Holylands whose communities are constantly plagued with overflowing bins, fly-tipping and litter issues in the entries.
“This is no reflection on council workers, who do a great job in trying to keep on top of it – in fact, I often find that they’ll leave an area spotless after cleansing it, only for the situation to return to square one with litter and discarded items accumulating almost immediately, which must be very frustrating.
“However, it does point to the systemic problems caused by cramming too many people into small areas without adequate infrastructure, narrow streets and poor parking preventing access for bin lorries, and a general lack of focus on finding creative solutions.
“The recent introduction of the bin tagging system has highlighted this further, and I’ve raised concerns a number of times that while it might work in other parts of the city, it won’t in many of the areas I represent as the underlying issues around managing waste and cleansing haven’t been resolved, and we are seeing this play out with dozens of bins getting tagged in particular streets with no way to fix it.
“I feel so sorry for people trying to get on with their lives, and in many cases taking care of their areas and trying to enhance them through initiatives such as transforming the entries behind their homes, only to find the place constantly strewn with litter and dumped household items.
“If there’s anything coming out of the tagging system for these areas, it must be the wake-up it creates to have a renewed focus on genuinely getting to the bottom of these issues, listening to residents and understanding their experiences, and delivering practical solutions that will work over the long term, rather than firefighting problems on a constant basis.”
A Belfast City Council spokesperson said: “These tags have been introduced to keep our staff safe, support cleaner neighbourhoods and ensure collections run smoothly for everyone. Bins that are overfilled, contain the wrong items or have liners inside can’t be collected safely, and updated vehicle technology means the lifting equipment will soon not operate if a bin lid is raised.
“Residents can help our crews by clearly marking their bin, leaving bins out by 7am on the day of collection and bringing them back in again once emptied or by 7pm, and by only using their own bin. Lids must be fully closed and no large liners or additional bags of waste should be presented, as our crews cannot collect these.
“We have staff monitoring hotspot areas daily and would encourage residents to call 028 9027 0230 or use our website to report any problems so they can be investigated. If we can identify who is responsible for dumping waste in bins which do not belong to them, enforcement action may also follow.”
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