Council warned filthy street bins are giving city a bad name

A councillor has called on the local authority to repaint public bins as they are giving the city a grubby image.

Niall McNelis, who is also a businessman on Quay Lane, said he was promised nearly two months ago that the bins would be cleaned.

“The town is looking very grubby, street cleaners do an amazing job each morning and also the regular clean ups each day but I was promised over six weeks ago that these bins would be cleaned, washed, removed or replaced and nothing has been done,” he said.

This, he said, was his third attempt to have city bins cleaned and restored.

“I’m not asking to replace the bins, simply to have them power-washed and painted”.

Frustrated by the ‘passing around of responsibility’, Cllr McNelis is now urging all businesses in town to ask that the Council address the problem with immediacy.

He said that last year, Galway was awarded a bronze medal in the Tidy Towns competition after years of hard work.

“The Tidy Towns effort, together with huge efforts being made to establish a ‘Galway Brand’ and market the city as a tourist destination, is hindered by an oversight over something as simple as a street bins.

“In Dublin, public bins are power-washed on a weekly basis. But bins here in Galway haven’t been touched in over a year – rendering them not just unsightly but also a breeding ground for bacteria.

“Bins, are a load of rubbish and even clean bins are never really clean, per se. However, the state of those in Galway at the moment not only tarnishes the aesthetics of the city centre, but could pose a threat to public health.

“The council and departments are playing ‘pass the baton’ with nobody steeping up to take action on the issue.”