Minimum charges per kilo per waste type have been announced by the Department of Environment, as they begin their campaign to educate the public on waste segregation, the brown bin and pay by weight, prior to July 1st, 2016. From that date household refuse charges will be levied on a weight per kilo basis. The “minimum” charges are 2c/kilo, 6c/kilo and 11c/kilo for recyclables, brown/food waste and black/grey waste respectively. These charges will be on top of the service charge that your waste service provider will charge…similar to the standing charge on a electricity bill. So in effect you will have the standing/service charge plus the price per kilo for each waste. This may cause difficulties for some users depending on the waste per kilo charges, the standing/service charges levied and the amount of the different waste types put out for collection. The result may be that the standing charge could actually be the biggest part of the householders bill! However the Minister has assured the public that household waste charges will not increase as a result of the pay by weight introduction. Let us all hope so, as there may now be scope for waste service providers to not only increase  standing charges but also the cost per kilo for each waste type. More will be revealed no doubt as  the July deadline approaches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The newly formed WERLA’s (Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authorities) have issued documentation to help Householders with the coming into force of Pay By Weight by July 2016. From July all Waste Collectors will be charging Householders on a Pay By Weight basis for their waste collection service. There are three WERLA’s charged with ensuring that all Waste Contractors and Householders comply with the new regulations, which mandate that food waste, recyclables and residual waste be segregated before collection .The three WERLA’s, backed by Local Authorities, Gardai, Revenue, EPA and other state agencies will ensure that mixed waste is not collected by Waste Contractors and that Householders correctly segregate their waste. Pay by Weight will ensure Recycled and Brown Waste will be cheaper per kilo than Residual Black Waste and so Householders will see a cost benefit in segregating waste. The three authorities have also issued some tips to help save money in preparation for the introduction of Pay By Weight, including the use of compostable bags to keep the brown bin clean and odour free.

In his opening address to the recent Waste Management Conference, Environment Minister,  Alan Kelly, focused on the Enforcement of the new Waste Regulations 2015 and the Circular Economy, whereby resources are reused and recycled . The Minister estimated that the Circular Economy would “create an upper end estimate for job creation through the complete processing in Ireland of recyclables and bio waste of 2,100 jobs, assuming we see the 50{b050ebef00e2b6e935b95b021e9f55f4ab20ffeed47f29e2aa25a2081fec5bc8} growth in waste generation and 100{b050ebef00e2b6e935b95b021e9f55f4ab20ffeed47f29e2aa25a2081fec5bc8} recycling of waste mater  that is forecast by 2030” On enforcement, he outlined the new multi agency regime that would be put in place, to include the Revenue, Gardai, County Councils and other agencies to tackle  among other issues “compliance with the food waste regulations ..with only 25{b050ebef00e2b6e935b95b021e9f55f4ab20ffeed47f29e2aa25a2081fec5bc8} of the total available volume actually being separately collected and appropriately treated”.

The Minister stated that enforcement would have  economic as well as environmental benefits, and he recognised the need for the involvement of the IWMA and Waste Service Providers  in any future enforcement strategy. The Minister  concluded that he wanted  “Ireland to be among the first States in the EU in which the circular economy is not just a concept, but where it is a dynamic and inclusive project”, and I believe most delegates in the room shared his sentiment. Such synergy and meeting of minds augurs well for the Waste Industry in Ireland.

On a recent visit to Drogheda, many local residents informed me that they did not have a Brown Bin for their food waste! They also said that they had not been supplied with a Brown Bin by their local waste service provider, nor were they being told that they could face fines if they disposed of  their food waste in the black bin/residual waste. This came as a bit of a surprise in light of the recent flyer from Louth Co. Council stating that from July 1st 2015 the Brown Bin was coming to all homes in Ardee, Clogherhead and Dunleer and that the Household Food Waste and Bio-Waste Regulations/Brown Bin had been applied in Drogheda since July 1st, 2013.  On visting the websites of waste service providers servicing Drogheda, it was found that AES supply a 35l brown bin as standard, Panda do not outline what service they provide and  Oxigen provide the Brown Bin in a Pay by Lift option at a cost of 650euro per annum, assuming 26 fortnightly lifts of the three bins per year. On making further enquiries it was found that both Panda and Oxigen do offer Brown Bin services if requested and that this service is more expensive than if the customers was supplied with just two bins (Recycling and General Waste). All of the above findings make for interesting reading, in so far as Louth Co. Council are saying that “all household food must be segregated” and “that all authorised waste collectors…must provide a separate food waste collection service or “brown bin”   for their customers”, yet  residents of Drogheda seem to be able to dispose of their food waste in their General Waste Bin and some waste service provider is collecting it!  Where it ends up after that is a question for another day.

Tesco Ireland is now stocking Brustibin, the only 100{b050ebef00e2b6e935b95b021e9f55f4ab20ffeed47f29e2aa25a2081fec5bc8} Irish household recycling bin,  in its Tesco Extra stores in Malahide, Balbriggan, Finglas, Naas, Maynooth, Portlaoise, Drogheda and Wexford.  This will be welcome news to all  householders in these areas  who must segregate their brown waste (food waste) from landfill waste (grey/black waste) and prepare for the introduction of pay-by-weight waste charges in 2016.