Council braces for pay-by-weight backlash

New waste fees could be ‘bigger issue than water charges’

Anton McNulty

THE introduction of pay-by-weight for the collection of domestic refuse will become a bigger issue than Irish Water, according to the Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council.
Paying by weight for the collection of domestic refuse will come into effect across the country on July 1,  seeing flat-fee charges scrapped. The new system was discussed at yesterday’s monthly meeting of Mayo Council Council, where fears were raised that charges will rise and result in more illegal dumping.
Mayo County Council Cathaoirleach Michael Holmes agreed to put the matter of pay-by-weight on the agenda of the next Council meeting, saying it was going to become a major issue.
“It will become a much bigger issue than the Irish Water issue was,” he told the meeting before later adding that an ‘artic truck’ would be needed to remove the rubbish he saw dumped along The Windy Gap outside Castlebar.
Pay-by-weight was due to be introduced last July, but was postponed until after the General Election over fears of a backlash by voters facing bigger bills. At the time, Environment Minister Alan Kelly insisted that the delay was to allow householders prepare for the new charging system.
The pay-by-weight proposal is designed to increase recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill. The new system involves the imposition of a higher charge per kilogramme of waste destined for landfill, with lower charges for compostable or ‘green’ waste.
Tom Gilligan, Director of Services with Mayo County Council told councillors they were obliged to bring in pay-by-weight and minimise the amount of waste going to landfills.
The matter was first raised by Westport Fianna FΡil councillor Brendan Mulroy who claimed that the new system will create problems and feels there has already been an increase fly-tipping.
“A lot of people are already preparing themselves for it, and I see it first hand where rubbish is starting to appear in places where there was never rubbish. That is a direct result of pay-by-weight coming further down the line. How are we going to stop this? How are we going  to manage this to ensure this county is not over run by litter? Because I assure you it is already happening,” he warned.
Fine Gael councillor Henry Kenny asked what controls were in place regarding illegal dumping, adding that many people were concerned that their bins will be filled at night by other people’s rubbish which they would have to pay for.
Mr Gilligan replied that enforcement officers will be identifying areas where dumping is considered ‘high risk’. He added that they will have the power to challenge households they suspect of dumping to show receipts and proof that their waste is being collected.
Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne said the councillors can ‘talk all week’ on the subject but they won’t be able to do anything, as the private waste-collection companies can charge what they like.
“People cannot afford the charges. There is dumping going on all over the place. Instead of talking of the cost of pay-by-weight, we should be talking on how to stop illegal dumping. We have been talking about it for months and it has not stopped,” he said.