Dublin City Council - Bin Collection Privatised/Greyhound Megathread

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Just signed up as our bins were collected last week with the overflowing green bin to go this week. €72 in one fell swoop.

Was talking to a friend in the US the other night & he tole me their bins are $140 a month. Granted everything is picked up every week rather than every two & they even have a bin for glass (which doesn't have to be sorted) that also goes kerbside. But it's a lot of dough to be coming up with every month.

I won't say what his property taxes are.

podgeandrodge

Sleepy wrote: »

Just applied to transfer to Oxigen.

Again, it's a principle thing.

Also wondering as to the legality of DCC handing my personal info to a private company. Seems a breach of Data Protection law to me...

Stripey Cat wrote: »

That's a good point.

Did the small print allow for this handing over of people's details to a third party? What details are there apart from your name and address ?

Considering moving to a supplier other than Greyhound as well - like Sleepy on principle. This was foisted on us at the last minute as far as I can see to maximise the transfer of customers to Greyhound.

I have also asked Data Protection Commissioner to confirm to me whether a data breach has occurred in this instance as I did not provide Dublin City Council with my details for the purpose of providing them to Greyhound.

Also, don't like the idea of paying €100 up front - if you leave half way through the year you won't get that back I presume. Whole thing stinks. (Love all the puns!)

podgeandrodge

Here is a table of fees depending on bin lift if I have worked it out correctly...I am in Dublin City area (Terenure) and think these 3 providers are the only ones currently offering a service. (Access are not accepting new customers at the moment according to their website)




As far as I can see Thorntons win with exception of 6/7 bin lifts on a pay as you go with Oxygen with benefit of no service charge in that case.

I have not taken brown bins into account at all.

chinguetti

Any around the Mater/NCR/Dorset St, both bins are been picked up in the morning.

Ernest

podgeandrodge wrote: »

Here is a table of fees depending on bin lift if I have worked it out correctly...I am in Dublin City area (Terenure) and think these 3 providers are the only ones currently offering a service. (Access are not accepting new customers at the moment according to their website)




As far as I can see Thorntons win with exception of 6/7 bin lifts on a pay as you go with Oxygen with benefit of no service charge in that case.

I have not taken brown bins into account at all.

That seems to be the problem with Oxigen - They do not have regular brown bin collections in their schedule.
If I read their website correctly, brown bins are treated as special collections at €14 per bin. This could work out rather costly you have brown bins to fill even for half the year. That would add say € 182 (13weeks at €14 per lift) to the otherwise reasonable €240 (€20 per month) giving an annual cost for all bins of €422 (€182 + €240).
Furthermore, technically you could be charged for new bins to use with Oxigen since Dublin City Assistant Manager Seamus Lyons said last week on a webcast that they have GIVEN AWAY THE EXISTING GREY, GREEN AND BROWN BINS to GREYHOUND WHO NOW OWN OUR BINS!!!

John Mason

we are going with Oxigen and getting a composter.

But i really like the fact that you can bring your brown bin rubbish to ballymount and they will give you a bag of compost.

also i have paid for my bins from greyhound, 30e a go - so they can feck off if they think they are getting them back

dolallyoh

irishbird wrote: »

But i really like the fact that you can bring your brown bin rubbish to ballymount and they will give you a bag of compost.

Eh ? What ?!?!? Explain ! Cannot find this scheme online. Sounds mad but cool

_blank_

It's in this

Des wrote: »

Oxigen flyer

dolallyoh

Ah gotcha, i read it and thought Ballymount per se would give you a bag of compost for any randommer turning up with a brown bin.

Is it a bag for compost or a bag full of compost ?

Ernest

Ernest wrote: »

That seems to be the problem with Oxigen - They do not have regular brown bin collections in their schedule.
If I read their website correctly, brown bins are treated as special collections at €14 per bin. This could work out rather costly you have brown bins to fill even for half the year. That would add say € 182 (13weeks at €14 per lift) to the otherwise reasonable €240 (€20 per month) giving an annual cost for all bins of €422 (€182 + €240).
Furthermore, technically you could be charged for new bins to use with Oxigen since Dublin City Assistant Manager Seamus Lyons said last week on a webcast that they have GIVEN AWAY THE EXISTING GREY, GREEN AND BROWN BINS to GREYHOUND WHO NOW OWN OUR BINS!!!

Upon reflection, looking at the web page paste by Des I may have overestimated the cost of brown bin collection at €14 - perhaps this should be €12 per lift.

As for going all the way across the city to Ballymount to dump compost???!! I don't think so!

msg11

Are these lads collecting the bins or what's the story? There's rubbish backing up in my drive way now at this stage..

Emma1980

msg11 wrote: »

Are these lads collecting the bins or what's the story? There's rubbish backing up in my drive way now at this stage..

I paid my 50euro yesterday and topped up the account to cover 4 lifts and my green bin was collected this morning in Ballyfermot. I think they are picking up the green bin regardless of whether or not you've paid up until mid February.

Seeing as the prices are frozen until June i thought it the cheaper option to go with Greyhound, 50euro plus 6euro per lift isn't bad in fairness. I'll see come July when the 2nd 50euro is due and they bring in the pay by weight how it fairs out....

John Mason

i put out my black bin 2/3 times a year so, by going with oxigen option 3 my bin charges for the year will be 21e

flipping brilliant

lolo62

hi sorry if this info has been posted already i havent read all the posts

just spoke to my local labour rep who was at the meeting

bin tag users (as in plastic bag waste collection) dont have to pay the annual charge.

buy tags from usual outlets like post office etc and leave out as usual. recycling will be collected every second week along with domestic waste as long as sticker is on domestic

Lawrence1895

Emma1980 wrote: »

I paid my 50euro yesterday and topped up the account to cover 4 lifts and my green bin was collected this morning in Ballyfermot. I think they are picking up the green bin regardless of whether or not you've paid up until mid February.

Seeing as the prices are frozen until June i thought it the cheaper option to go with Greyhound, 50euro plus 6euro per lift isn't bad in fairness. I'll see come July when the 2nd 50euro is due and they bring in the pay by weight how it fairs out....

I hope so, the green bin of mine is...well...full :mad:

Angry Troll

don’t think i was notified about the whole changeover thing at all, only really found out yesterday and more by coincidence…

John Mason

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0124/1224310672712.html

THE TRANSFER of Dublin city’s bin collection service to private waste company Greyhound has been a “wholesale disaster”, a meeting of Dublin City Council has heard.

Councillors of all parties last night said they had been inundated with complaints from constituents whose bins had not been collected since Greyhound began operating the service last week.

Greyhound took over bin collections from the council on January 16th following a sale agreed last December. The company has denied it missed bin collections and said any incidents of bins or waste bags left uncollected on the street were the result of “customer misunderstanding” of the collection calendar.

Residents were yesterday continuing to report problems with the service, with some saying they had yet to receive any collection a week after the new service had begun and others saying they still had not received any literature in relation to the changeover.

Sinn Féin councillor Larry O’Toole said the transfer had been badly mismanaged. “This handover has been a wholesale disaster,” he added. “Our former customers and the people of this city deserve far more respect than has been shown to them.”

Fine Gael councillor Mary O’Shea said Greyhound and the council had “made a mess” of the changeover. Fianna Fáil councillor Mary Fitzpatrick described it as a “low point in the history of the city council”. Sinn Féin’s Micheál Mac Donncha said Greyhound’s claim that it had not missed collections was a “deliberate falsehood”.

Christy Bourke (Ind) said confusion over collections had created chaos in the city and the failure to collect bags had left streets strewn with rubbish and public litter bins overflowing.

Paddy Bourke (Lab) asked if the service should have been sold to a private company without the sanction of the councillors, given that the disposal of council assets was a power held by councillors, not council management.

Damien O’Farrell (Ind) said that in the Clontarf area alone, he had received more than 90 complaints in relation to Greyhound.

Brian McDowell (Lab) pointed out that when the Fingal County Council waste service was privatised, there had been a three-month changeover period.

Other councillors described the situation as a “disgrace” and a “debacle”. Several councillors raised concerns that residents had not been told they did not have to sign up to the Greyhound service and could seek alternatives.

The letter sent to residents in relation to the changeover was a joint communique from the council and Greyhound and makes no reference to the availability of other service providers.

Oxigen, which collects commercial waste in Dublin, said it would offer a service to former council customers. It is offering three options: €20 a month for a fortnightly black and green bin collection; an annual charge of €60 plus €8.85 for each collection or €14 for each collection.

Greenstar, which collects bins in Fingal and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, said it was not operating in the city at the moment but was “actively considering” entry into the market.

Panda, which operates waste collection in Fingal and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and is one of the few private firms to have already won business from the council, with about 2,000 existing city customers, said it was not taking on any new customers at present.

Gerry1995

Dirk Gently wrote: »

It says on the letter (arrived today) that the green barcode will only be sent out after you pay the 100euro. So even when you pay you'll still be waiting for them to send you out a green barcode to stick on the bin. They wont collect the green bin without the barcode.

Also says the billing period for the 100 euro is 1st january to 31st dec even though letters are still only arriving in the 2nd half of january and even then you'll be waiting for more post from them before getting it lifted.

On the plus side there is no mention of dub citys last 1/4 charge when you log in. It does say on their website that they will pursue outstanding DDC charges but wont entertain accounts in credit. It will be interesting to see how far people are prepared to be pushed.

I just logged on to Greyhound to top up so they will start collecting. My account started with a €-50 debit balance (last quarter) and when I topped up my account then showed €-30 balance, does this mean the wont collect my bin. I heard John Lyons from DCC saying outstand amounts from DCC will not affect collection even though Greyhound are to pursue people for the debt.

podgeandrodge

irishbird wrote: »

i put out my black bin 2/3 times a year so, by going with oxigen option 3 my bin charges for the year will be 21e

flipping brilliant

How did you work that out?

John Mason

podgeandrodge wrote: »

How did you work that out?

lol - actually it will be 36e :-)

3 bin lifts at 12e a pop = 36e

green bin is free and we are getting a composter

podgeandrodge

irishbird wrote: »

i put out my black bin 2/3 times a year so, by going with oxigen option 3 my bin charges for the year will be 21e

flipping brilliant

irishbird wrote: »

lol - actually it will be 36e :-)

3 bin lifts at 12e a pop = 36e

green bin is free and we are getting a composter

Still confused Thought you were putting out a black bin 3 times a year not a composter? Which would make it €42.

Toby Take a Bow

lolo62 wrote: »

hi sorry if this info has been posted already i havent read all the posts

just spoke to my local labour rep who was at the meeting

bin tag users (as in plastic bag waste collection) dont have to pay the annual charge.

buy tags from usual outlets like post office etc and leave out as usual. recycling will be collected every second week along with domestic waste as long as sticker is on domestic

That's great. Saw it on a Labour flyer from Moynihan. It surely can't be that easy, though, right? Why do other people have accounts and arrears with DCC when we just put out a bin every two weeks for 3 euro? It's a bit nuts.

supergunner

Does anyone know if you switch to another provider do you have to inform Greyhound? If so how do i go about this there is nothing on their FAQ`s and the phones are so busy.I havent signed up to them(greyhound) and will be using a different company.

ooter

My mother gets a waiver and got the letter last week,she doesn't have to pay the €100 and she's due to get the barcoded sticker in the post but still hasn't got it yet.
It was green bin day yesterday and they lifted her bin..

dolallyoh

No collection on my estate yesterday when GH were supposed to collect.

Shambles.

Emma1980

Gerry1995 wrote: »

I just logged on to Greyhound to top up so they will start collecting. My account started with a €-50 debit balance (last quarter) and when I topped up my account then showed €-30 balance, does this mean the wont collect my bin. I heard John Lyons from DCC saying outstand amounts from DCC will not affect collection even though Greyhound are to pursue people for the debt.

That -50euro is not your last quarter - that is your standing charge from January to June. Greyhound have not started collecting the DCC charges for the last quarter and when they do, they said it would not be added onto your Greyhound account.

Angry Troll

lolo62 wrote: »

hi sorry if this info has been posted already i havent read all the posts

just spoke to my local labour rep who was at the meeting

bin tag users (as in plastic bag waste collection) dont have to pay the annual charge.

buy tags from usual outlets like post office etc and leave out as usual. recycling will be collected every second week along with domestic waste as long as sticker is on domestic

that would be the perfect solution…yet, as “toby take a bow” has already said, it seems just too easy somehow…will have to find a way to confirm that info…

donegalgirl28

supergunner wrote: »

Does anyone know if you switch to another provider do you have to inform Greyhound? If so how do i go about this there is nothing on their FAQ`s and the phones are so busy.I havent signed up to them(greyhound) and will be using a different company.

x2?

cosmic

donegalgirl28 wrote: »

x2?

We don't have to inform them of anything, as far as I'm concerned. They didn't afford us the courtesy of informing us very much over the past few weeks so I don't feel obliged to inform them of a single thing. I'm going with another company and have been told by the new company that they will provide me with a letter to send to Greyhound, closing my account but I'm not interested in doing so, especially given the fact that I don't, technically, have a Greyhound account in the first place. For convenience, I'll be hiding the Greyhound bins in the shed in case my psycho landlady wants them when I move out but if they come looking for them in the meantime, I'm claiming ignorance.

donegalgirl28

Hmmm, definitely switching over to Oxigen. Have asked if I can go with Option 3 for a while, and then switch to a different one which would probably be Option 1 as it works out at 5 euro a week but for now, I've calculated that my black bin would go out every 5 weeks, so approx €140 a year, then I have a composter so can do that so don't wanna pay €100 extra for the sake of easiness.