You don't intimidate us, Socialist Voice, Oct. 2003
You don't intimidate us
On day one, by 8.08 am all four of the trucks in Dublin 15 were grounded. The bin service in the whole of Fingal was stopped.
By Fiona O'Loughlin
In the Dublin 15 area some estates have not had a bin collection for four weeks as Fingal county council refuses to send in the bin trucks. Residents are now blockading trucks and disposing of the waste of non-payers into the trucks themselves, which is entirely legal.
This is really annoying the council as it is stopping the waste building up in working class areas and giving people an alternative to buying a tag out of desperation. As an inevitable result of Fingal's policy of non-collection and bin charges rubbish has been placed on roundabouts or public areas which then has to be cleared by the Council.
Fingal County Council has gone all out to break this campaign. They got an injunction that is so broad that you could nearly be accused of breaking it by looking too closely at a Fingal bin truck or bin man. They have had Clare and Joe jailed. They have intimidated residents with the police, courts etc. In September they had nine people arrested and brought before the courts for breaking the injunction.
They believed people would be terrified and back off due to the fear of imprisonment. The nine residents stood firm, they all turned up in court with their bags packed ready and willing to join Clare and Joe in Mountjoy. Amid scenes of relief and jubilation in the court the judge dismissed the case and refused to award costs.
Good result for the campaign bad day for the council.
Give them their rubbish back
The Fingal Anti Bin Tax Campaign always makes the point that householders are waste receivers not waster producers. We believe that people should bring their packaging back to the place they bought it. The local supermarkets or shops are legally obliged to take back any packaging purchased on their premises.