Coveney criticises Greyhound over bin-charge policy

Minister for Local Government Simon Coveney is "not happy" with waste collector Greyhound after the company moved to automatically transfer customers to pay-by-weight bin charges unless they actively opt out.

The company, which services 250,000 customers in Dublin City Council and South Dublin County Council, is at odds with competitors who will keep customers on current price plans unless they positively opt for pay-by-weight.

Pay-by-weight was due to begin on July 1st after then minister for the environment Alan Kelly introduced a statutory instrument, which is legislation that does not need to pass through the Oireachtas and need only be signed by the relevant minister.

But earlier this month, Mr Coveney and the waste industry agreed to freeze the introduction of pay-by-weight charges for 12 months, amid fears they would lead to a dramatic increase in charges for some customers.

At the end of the 12-month period, the Government is to review the situation and decide on the roll out of pay-by-weight, as well as regulation and oversight in the sector.

Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Coveney said he was “not happy” about Greyhound’s move to implement an opt-out system.

“What Greyhound had been advocating for was the opportunity for customers to opt in to pay-by-weight, if that’s what customers were looking for,” he said.

“By the end of December, all companies will have to offer their clients an opt-in option for pay-by-weight if that’s what their customers choose, and there’ll also be dual billing after January 1st to actually show how people can make financial gains by switching over to pay-by-weight and managing their weight more effectively.

“So I am surprised Greyhound are effectively asking people to opt out of that switch over. That is not what was agreed and we’ll be speaking to Greyhound in relation to that.”

In a statement, Greyhound said it was giving customers “choice” in relation to how they pay, and that it has made the process “as easy as possible”.

“Following feedback from our customers, Greyhound is providing choice: stay with your existing price plan - frozen for a year - or go to pay-by-weight.

“We have made this process as easy as possible by providing multiple contact points: email, telephone or by returning forms posted to them. All contracts will now run until August 1st for 12 months.

“This means we are giving customers one month’s notice to inform us of their preferred price plan. This allows time for customers to make a decision and also gives us time to adjust our systems.”

Fianna Fáil spokesman on local government Barry Cowen called on Mr Coveney to explore the option of revoking Greyhound’s licence “if it continues to hike up standard charges for new customers”.

“The move by Greyhound to hike up standard charges for new customers is unacceptable and should not be tolerated,” he said.

“The company appears intent on making it as difficult as possible for their customers to remain on a fixed-charge plan by insisting that they make contact with them to opt out of the pay-by-weight system.”