Households to be penalised for not recycling their rubbish

Households that send more waste to landfill will face higher bills after the Government has abolished flat-fee charges.

Minister for Communications Denis Naughten received Cabinet approval to roll out a new waste scheme a year after the proposed pay-by-weight charges caused public protest and political controversy.

Under the previous system householders paid a flat fee in the region of €17 a month for waste collection. This fee will be abolished.

From now on firms will be allowed to apply standing charges, but will have to outline the usage element such as pay-by-weight or pay-per-lift.

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Under the new system, which comes into force on July 1st, there will be no minimum charge per kilogram of waste disposed, and individual operators will be free to set their own prices.

Mr Naughten stressed the Government had no role in price-setting by individual companies, but said he believed competition between firms would offer flexible costs for consumers.

“We have no control over them. I have put in place a situation to allow us as much flexibility as possible, and to allow operators to put in place as many types of charging regimes as possible.”

He said the new system was necessary to incentivise households to commit less waste to landfill and to divert more towards recycling.

If no extra measures were taken to encourage household recycling the State would run out of space in landfills, “effectively meaning we will have no landfill capacity for two months of the year”.

Financial incentive

He said the new system of pay-by-weight would help to cut down on the demand for landfills by giving households a financial incentive to recycle.

“We are going to provide flexibility for operators to ensure that if people segregate more or produce less waste, they will pay less.”

Under the new arrangement waste collectors will be free to offer a range of pricing options to customers, including pay-by- lift or a pricing regime based on the amount of waste collected.

Fianna Fáil and the Green Party urged the Minister to monitor the situation closely to ensure consumers were not penalised unfairly.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said the amount of waste going to landfill must be reduced. However, he added: "Allowing waste companies a free-for-all regarding their pricing structures, consumers will suffer if they are allowed to do that."

Mr Ryan also said a deposit return scheme on bottles and cans should be introduced to reduce waste.

However, the Department of Environment has ruled this out, insisting the evidence it has was it would serve to disimprove the current situation.

Fianna Fáil TD John Curran also asked the Minister to instruct the waste companies to inform customers of the implications of various pricing structures.

Mr Naughten has said this is something he will discuss with the industry.

Lower-income households

Sinn Féin said the plans put lower-income households at risk, and offered no incentive not to generate waste.

Under the scheme adults with incontinence problems will be given €75 from the State to help with disposal costs.

Mr Naughten has also outlined his desire to have brown bins, which are for food waste, provided to households in every town with 500 or more people.

The Minister confirmed apartment complexes will not be provided for under this scheme as they are viewed as commercial customers. His department is examining proposals in this area, but they have yet to be agreed.

It is expected most households will move across to the new system within 15 months.