ASSISTANT DUBLIN city manager Matt Twomey has accused private waste firms of "cherry-picking" waste collection routes.
He says he intends to stop private operators from moving in on the council's waste-collection service.
Mr Twomey was speaking ahead of impending court cases being taken by waste firms Greenstar and Panda against the council's control of the bin-collection service for Dublin city.
The council, with the agreement of councillors, earlier this year added a clause to the waste management plan which states that household waste collection will be carried out either by the local authority or by a private company chosen through a public tendering process.
The change would apply not only in the city area but to all four Dublin local authorities including Dún Laoghaire/ Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin county councils.
The change would end private firms' freedom to operate anywhere in Dublin and would force them to bid for a contract to collect waste and work within the council's terms and conditions.
Panda and Greenstar are taking separate High Court cases against the council beginning on October 28th. The waste companies have alleged the council is abusing its position as both a regulator and a competitor in the domestic waste collection market.
Mr Twomey said yesterday that he intended to "defend vigorously" the council's right to decide who collected the city's waste.
"Collecting and disposing of household waste in Dublin is a vital public service," he said. "It should be controlled by the Dublin local authorities whose focus is on achieving the Dublin Waste Plan aim of 59 per cent recycling and not on making huge profits."
Some private collectors were offering cheaper rates than the council. However, Mr Twomey said they did not offer the range of services provided by the council, such as civic amenity sites, hazardous waste collection and the waiver scheme for low-income households.
The revenue from the bin collection charges goes to fund these services.
"The current situation with private waste companies cherry-picking lucrative parts of the waste collection and disposal service in Dublin cannot continue. It's not sustainable, even in the short term," he said.
The council needs an early resolution to the cases as it has already lost one legal battle with a private waste company. The council had sought an injunction against Panda to prevent the firm from collecting bins in the council's area pending the outcome of this month's court cases. The High Court denied the application.
Panda has already begun seeking business in the city, saying it would undercut the council's current €91 annual administration charge by offering customers an annual charge of €72.80.
Mr Twomey said he intended to continue having council workers collecting the city waste and he did not intend to put the service out to tender.
