People Before Profit Galway has renewed its call to end the privatisation of waste management following an RTÉ report over the weekend that showed that waste collection companies in Ireland are making profits of €350 million a year.
Galway City Central candidate Adrian Curran said that waste collection is an essential public service and should not be used for profiteering by private companies.
“There is a huge cost-of-living crisis in Galway with people struggling to pay their bills,” he said.
“Waste collection should be a free public service, provided by the state through city and county councils, as it was previously, and it should not be subject to profit motives.”
Galway City West candidate Maisie McMaster added that private companies running waste collection have no motive for reducing waste when that should be the primary objective.
“We need legislation to reduce commercial packaging and advertising which make up a significant portion of waste.”
Galway City East candidate Denman Rooke said that bringing waste collection back into the hands of one operator – the local councils – would be better for the environment and our local communities.
“This would end the ridiculous situation where multiple trucks are collecting in each estate and street, sometimes just for one bin,” said Denman.
“This would reduce emissions and traffic on waste collection days.”
