Hundreds of bins are being stolen from several estates
COUNCILLOR Paul Bell has openly condemned youths involved in the practice of stealing and burning wheelie bins from residents in several estates in the town of Drogheda and has called on parents to engage with their children about the impact which this activity is having on citizens who are the victims of this crime.
“One resident I spoke to confirmed that in the last three years five bins had been taken from outside her home and destroyed by fire. On each occasion she was charged a €60.00 replacement fee per bin by the waste company,’ he said.
“I contacted one of the major waste disposal companies and was surprised to learn that over the last three weeks approximately 500 bins have been reported stolen and destroyed in the Louth, Meath and North Dublin areas and that the pattern of this behaviour has been growing over the past three years.
‘ The company did confirm that a charge is obligatory for replacement, but have tried to address customers situations where the cost could not be afforded. In many of these cases local green spaces maintained by residents have been destroyed which in itself is disgraceful and especially where residents have been working very hard to maintain the upkeep of their local environment.’
Bell also noted that Louth County Council and GARDAI confirmed that they had responded to a number of these fires as residents try to fight back against those involved in this behaviour.