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Ireland changes green bin pay-by-weight plans

Xinhua, May 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Irish government on Wednesday cancelled plans to introduce mandatory minimum pay-by-weight charges for green bin waste.

The charge was part of a new nationwide pay-by-weight system due to come into force on July 1.

Under the new household waste collection regime, minimum charges were specified with 0.11 euro(0.12 U.S. dollar) per kg for black bin waste, 0.06 euro for brown bin and 0.02 euro for green bin.

Simon Coveney, minister for housing, planning and local government, welcomed the launch of the pay by weight concerning the collection of household waste, saying that the introduction of pay by weight will mean that the majority of households will be charged in a new, fairer and more transparent way for the collection of their waste.

The Irish minister highlighted the potential of this new charging structure to incentivize the prevention of waste and divert material from landfill, to give families more control over their waste management costs and to further drive increases in recycling rates.

"Pay by weight charging should provide better value for households who minimize their waste and segregate correctly. It will help Ireland achieve current and future EU recycling and landfill waste targets, and will also result in further job creation, due to the processing of more recyclable and organic waste," he said.

Coveney said he had decided to remove the mandatory minimum pay by weight charge for the collection of recyclate (or "green bin") waste as part of the new household waste collection regime.

While recognizing there is a cost to collecting and managing recyclable household waste, he said the change will allow collectors the maximum flexibility to charge for this waste stream on a pay by weight basis or alternatively to absorb that cost in another part of their pricing structure. Endit