Source: Irish Cycle, Irish Times Image source: Irish Cycle

Waste management company KeyGreen is using electric cargo bikes to help businesses and residents in Dublin city centre comply with a no-bags-on-the-street regulation. The rule, imposed in December 2025, requires occupants of a 90-street area to now either use wheelie bins, on-street waste compactors, or make other waste collection arrangements.

The 90-street area had been exempt from rules implemented in 2016 that all waste should be placed in bins, as many of the properties did not have physical space for wheelie bins. However their on-street plastic waste sacks were frequently torn open by seagulls and other animals, creating a litter problem.

In October 2025 it was reported that less than 35% of the area’s occupants had signed up for wheelie bins, and would be required to use the two on-street compactors, which can be used only with an access card.

The city’s waste collection services, including KeyGreen, have presented convenient solutions to the area’s occupants, transporting their waste directly to the compactors. Derek Kelly, executive manager of Dublin council’s environment division, said, “The city centre collection companies are providing a service with cargo bikes which will collect the bags directly from the customer and bring them to the compactors. What we’ve heard from the companies is that 90 per cent of their customers are choosing that door-to-door collection instead of bringing the bags to the compactors themselves.”

KeyGreen outlined the green credentials and convenience of their service on LinkedIn: “Since introducing our electric cargo bike service, we’ve been helping customers across 90 streets in Dublin 2 adapt to new waste regulations in a cleaner, more convenient way.

“With bin bags no longer permitted on specified streets across Dublin’s city centre, our service offers a simple alternative, combining access to self-serve locations with our reliable cargo bike collections.

“Our fully electric bike reduces emissions, eases congestion, and makes waste collection more efficient.”