Varadkar says new bin charges fair, better for environment

Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar says the principle of pay-by-weight bin charges makes sense and will encourage people to compost more, recycle more and reduce waste.

“The system is fair and good for the environment and that 20 per cent of households are already paying for waste by weight,” he said.

The Minister said Sinn Féin’s proposal that waste be paid for through general taxation was just code for saying the middle class should pay for everything and that others should pay nothing.

“Paying by weight will encourage people to reduce waste, it’ll encourage people to compost more and it’ll encourage people to recycle more.

“I think it’s a much fairer system to pay for what you produce, the producer pays principle, people paying for the amount of waste they produce.”

He said some waste companies appear to be taking advantage of the new system to increase prices and that was not something the Government was going to allow.

He said that Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government Simon Coveney will meet representatives from the industry again today and is expected to brief the cabinet and media on the matter tomorrow.

Earlier, Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald says the proposed scheme should be scrapped because it is “hugely problematic”.

She said it lacked an allowance for waivers, carers, families with young babies and claimed it will lead to a spike in illegal dumping.

“It bans the use of bags. People who live in terraces will have to hike several bins through their homes.

“The proposal was ill-conceived and needs to go,” Ms McDonald told RTE’s Morning Ireland.

Penalties

As an alternative she suggested there should be system of incentives rather than penalties.

“The Government needs to accept that they made a mistake. The scheme is problematic. A wise Government would realise that and withdraw the proposal.

“The only way those charges are going to go is up. Families will not be able to meet those increased prices.

“Rubbish will be stored in back gardens or illegally dumped which is not going to be good for the environment or health.”

Ms McDonald said waste management should be run by the State and paid for through general taxation.

She said that Sinn Féin was open to the idea of discussions “but we are not open to private interests fleecing people on low incomes. There has to be a more common sense, practical solution”.

On the same programme, Mr Varadkar said if the incentive to recycle was removed it would be bad for the environment.

“Price hikes are not acceptable. We won’t allow that.”

Separately the head of the National Metrology Laboratory said he expects good levels of compliance to the new pay-by-weight charges.

Paul Turner told Newstalk Breakfast that the system will involve an automated tracking measurement that will be monitored by the National Standards Association of Ireland’s Metrology department.

“We are going to be very busy. We are here to give people confidence in the system. We don’t see any problems and we feel that there will be good levels of compliance,” he said.

He explained bin trucks will have an automated system that will lift and weigh bins and all the data would sent to a central location. Every bin will have an individual chip that will be unique.

“We have worked with industry and Government and everyone will have to comply with metrology legislation. If they don’t comply we can prosecute.”

Metrology is the science of measurement and his department is responsible for ensuring that all systems for measurement in the country are accurate such as petrol pumps and weighing scales in supermarkets.

Mr Turner said checks would be ongoing once the new pay by weight scheme is introduced.

He said: “Verification is a legal process to ensure that measurements are accurate. The equipment will be inspected on a regular basis.

“There is an appeal mechanism. If a member of the public suspects that they have been overcharged they can lodge a complaint, an investigation will be carried out.”