The campaigns against the Bin charges

Chronological reports from the frontline

Anti-Bin Charges March in Cork
About 300 people marched on Saturday afternoon in protest at the ongoing stand-off over the bin tax and the non-collection of domestic rubbish in Cork City.

Resistance Pays ... Cork Anti-Bins
Figures released by Cork City Council confirm that the non-payment of bin charges remains very high despite the Council's bullying tactics

Wages Up 23%!
(of course not - only the bin-tax jumps up like that) The anti-bin tax campaign fought a long, hard struggle in 2003 involving pickets, blockades in estates and outside depots.

Small bin tax victory in Dun Laoghaire
Every Wednesday morning I arise at 7 am. Our mission to make sure that every bin on the Granville Road, Doonsalla, Watsons road is lifted whether they have paid some, all or no bin tax.

Bin Tax - what has been going on
The campaign against the bin-tax in Dublin has seen an upsurge of community resistance to the government

Government announces new 'turd tax'
Minister for the environment Martin Cullen today announced a new tax on visits to the toilet, which has already been dubbed the 'turd tax'.

Cork Against the Bin Tax
The campaign in Cork and contact detials for anarchists active in the campaign in Dublin

Anti-bin tax meetings in Cork
About fifty people gathered in Mayfield GAA club in the first of a series of meetings re launching the campaign against the refuse charges in Cork city. The meeting was addressed by Paddy Mulcahy and Ted Tynan both jailed in 1991 for non-payment

Cabra marches on Mountjoy
Over 500 people assembled in Cabra outside the Bingo hall and marched down the New Cabra Road towards Mountjoy prison where there is still ten brave anti-bin tax protesters incarcerated.

Day of action brings bin trucks to a halt
This morning saw a day of action across Dublin against the bin tax. At depot after depot activists from the campaign turned up in the early hours of the morning to stop the bin trucks leaving. This act of defiance is our answer to the continued jailing of activists by the high court.

Another bin tax march on Mountjoy jail
Saturday saw the second major march on Mountjoy jail of the bin tax protests. As many as 3,000 took part in this one, most marching out from Parnell square with a couple of hundred marching down from Cabra to meet them at the jail

10 jailed, hundreds protest at Mountjoy
Last night at very short notice over 300 people protested outside Mountjoy jail. On Saturday a Dublin Council of Trade Unions march will leave Parnell Square around midday to march on Mountjoy jail.

Blockades and lobbies of Dublin city bin truck depots
There were blockades on two of the four Dublin city depots this morning and a lobby of the Rathmines depot. This is to mark the High Court case this morning when 24 protesters from the city are being dragged into the courts for breaking the councils injunction against blockading trucks.

Grange Gorman blockade successful
Last nights blockade of the Grange Gorman bin truck depot was a success with no truck managing to leave during the three-hour blockade. These were the trucks that were to do the rubbish pick-up in the shopping areas of the city centre.

Dail protest, blockades and the bin tax campaign
The opening of the Dail on Tuesday 30 September after the long, long holidays the TD's get saw a somewhat disappointing bin tax protest on the streets outside

Monster meeting in Ballybrack + report from Dundrum
There was an excellent turn out for the meeting last night at Ballybrack workmans club &endash; 100-120 people

Second successful solidarity blockade in Stoneybatter
A crowd of about 25 people had assembled by 8:30, ready to take part in the blockade. We moved off into Drumalee to await the truck and our numbers grew as several residents came out to join us.

Report from High court bin tax hearing
Judge refuses city council's application for blanket injunction

Bin tax and Reclaim the Streets protests link up in Dublin [with pics]
Monday evening in Dublin saw a Reclaim the Streets demonstration joining up with an anti-bin tax march demanding the release of two imprisoned activists

Anti bin tax protest in Ringsend
This morning the council announced that they would begin implementing non-collection of bins in the Ringsend area of the city. Anti-bin tax activists mobilised to blockade the trucks to force them to collect all the bins.

Massive anti-bin tax meeting in Cabra
The decision to flex the muscle of the campaign by this action was taken on Monday night at a meeting in Cabra. The massive meeting of between 500 to 600 people took place in St. Finbarr's GAA Club.

Cabra activists blockade bin truck [with pics]
All bins are still being collected in Cabra (and the Dublin city area) but we felt it was important to send a message of solidarity to Fingal activists and also send a warning to the council that we were prepared for them.

Successful first bin truck blockade in Stoneybatter [with pics]
The anti-bin tax campaign in Stoneybatter took its first action today when it blockaded a bin truck just off the Oxmantown road. The truck was blockaded for one hour as a solidarity gesture with the campaign in Fingal.

Report on Bin charges meeting Kingstown Hotel Dun Laoghaire
Numbers and caution disappointing &endash; hopefully more resolve at local meetings

Bin tax protesters in Cabra blockade two trucks [with pics]
As Fingal council took a High Court case against bin tax protesters this morning bin tax campaigners in Cabra blockaded two trucks in solidarity with Fingal campaigners. Our intention is to hold onto at least one of these two trucks all day.

Bin tax protesters lobby at depots
Yesterday Fingal council attempted to start refusing to collect the bins of those who not paying the bin tax. This morning the campaign in the Dublin city area swung into action. Our first move was a lobby of the depots that the trucks leave from each morning

Bin tax - the WAR has begun
After being beaten on every front and with non-payment still remaining very high, Fingal council became the first one to try and implement their new tactic of non-collection of the rubbish. This morning there are eight different trucks which are blockaded into various estates in the north Dublin area known as Fingal

Irish Glass Bottle workers occupation
Workers at the Irish Glass Bottle plant in Ringsend have been in occupation of the plant for the last couple of months. The plant is closing, making some 375 workers redundant.

Winning the Water War In 1996 the domestic water charge was abolished. In 'Winning the Water War', Dermot Sreenan, an activist in the Federation of Dublin Anti-Water Charges Campaigns examines the campaign and the demonstration of people power that brought about the downfall of this charge. Print out and distribute A PDF file of this article

Understanding the Issues

Class, Ecology and the bin tax
As long as we live in a world ruled by a small elite that not only has the wealth to escape from environmental degradation but actually makes a bigger profit by not doing anything about it the 'environmental problem' will never be solved

Sunday Independent claims anarchists are 'infiltrating' bin tax campaign
The mouthpiece of millionaire Tony O'Reilly, the Sunday Independent, got terribly excited when it 'discovered' there were anarchists involved in the bin tax campaign

Service Charges Taking from the poor to give to the rich
One of the main reasons that we are fighting against the bin tax is because it is another attempt to transfer wealth from workers to the rich

Anarchists, the bin tax & direct action
There are many political groups and individuals involved in the campaign against the bin tax. Many of them see the campaign as little more than a way of getting votes in the local elections of June 2004.

The Bin Tax & Privatisation
It is no secret that the government wants to privatise the bin service in Dublin. The service has already been privatised in thirty-seven Local Authorities around the country

Cullen is a liar
Minister for the Environment, Martin Cullen claims that bin charges are necessary to deal with the waste crisis in this country

1 (no) law for the rich
The last months in Dublin have seen the jailing of ordinary working class people for protesting against the bin tax. A tax whose introduction was not only opposed by most people but which tens of thousands are refusing to pay.

David Begg: Bertie's new partner
ICTU general secretary David Begg condemned the anti-bin tax campaign. He did this at the same time that the state was jailing protesters and refusing to collect rubbish from thousands of households in Dublin.

Not Just Dublin
The media has tried to attempt this as being about Dublin v the rest of the country. So how come anti-bin charge activists were being jailed in Cork back in May 2001. There are also active campaigns elsewhere in the country, including Drogheda

Bin the Bin Tax!! (WS60)
Double taxation has returned to the Dublin area, with a £150 refuse charge introduced by Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council and talk among councillors on Dublin Corporation of the introduction of a charge there too.

The service charge con
Taking from workers to give to the rich

The 'polluter pays' & the bin tax (WS61)
The attempt to introduce refuse charges by the Dublin area county councils has been welcomed in some quarters. It is, we are told, necessary to fund a local waste management policy, that will increase the amount of waste recycled, and reduce the amount of landfill needed.

Anti-Bin Tax = tax dodger?
The politicians the big farmers and the bosses don't hold back when it comes to defending their interests. We should do the same, and no better way to start than by telling them to stuff their bin tax.

Bin Tax- Some backround notes on Environmental, Taxation and EU issues
Report written by Joe Higgins while in Jail

The WTO and GATS
According to the WTO, the GATS agreements cover 160 services' sector. What few people realised when the deal was first done is that the GATS also includes healthcare, education, housing, water, waste management and other basic services usually run by government agencies.

Blockade the trucks - Don't fall for council scams
As we go to print, the bin charges battle has started in earnest in Dublin with Fingal Council's attempt not to collect non-payer's bins.

Water tax in Northern Ireland
Northern Irish homes are to be subjected to a tax on water, unless enough of us get together to stop the government's plan.

Organising for Change
Just as combining against the bin tax or against the war makes us stronger so too does combining in political organisations.

Bin Charges - a strategy to win
by Gregor Kerr, the former Secretary, Federation of Dublin Anti Water Charge Campaigns
The key tactic which guaranteed success in the anti-water charge campaign was the refusal to pay. In the initial stages of the campaign, activists in local communities went from door-to-door encouraging their neighbours to join the boycott campaign

Our TAX Money - Will we get a receipt? (WS56)
What the Flood and McCracken and Moriarty Tribunals have revealed that politicians and business people regularly exchange massive sums of money without the slightest regard to taxation. Over 85% of tax on income is paid by PAYE workers

The Bin Tax - The Race for Office
Whilst I can understand the will of people to 'make the politicians pay' for their treachery in bringing in this tax for a public service - we don't agree with this tactic. The way this tax is going to be defeated is by building a massive campaign.

Direct Action and fighting to win
Anarchists are not particularly interested in protesting against the evils of the world - we would prefer to abolish them!

Direct Action is next step for the Anti-Bin Tax campaign
We must send out the message that we intend for every truck to pick up all the rubbish on their bin run. The Council must understand this, and the government must understand it. If non-collection is attempted, trucks will be blockaded into our estates until everyone's bin is emptied.

Sinn Fein and Labour help to introduce Dublin bin charges
Dublin City Council (Dublin Corporation) voted to introduce charges for refuse collection. The bin tax has arrived in the one local authority area which did not even try to levy a water charge a few years ago. The excuse used by some politicians was that the council had been threatened with dissolution had it not introduced the charges.