List of new waste charges

Wednesday, 4 October 2017

  • John Curran Question:
    69. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the work carried out to date by the pricing watchdog monitoring unit in relation to waste management; the composition of this unit; the frequency with which it has met since its establishment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41707/17]
    Written Answers (Question to Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment)

    Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment
    A Household Waste Collection Rate Monitoring Group has been established and the first meeting of the Group was held on 13 September, 2017 and attended by representatives from my Department, the Central Statistics Office, St. Vincent de Paul and a market expertise company. The company has also been appointed to begin the process of monitoring the rates charged by household waste collectors. They will report back to the Group on a monthly basis and the results will be published. The results will be monitored and analysed, and they will provide an evidence base regarding future monitoring or additional regulation of the waste market.

    In the interest of encouraging further waste prevention, flat-rate fees for kerbside household waste collection will be phased out over the period autumn 2017 to autumn 2018, as customers contracts come up for renewal. It is worth noting that the measure to phase out flat fees is not ‘new’ for about half of kerbside household waste customers, who are already on an incentivised usage pricing plan, i.e., a plan which contains a per lift or weight related fee.

    To assist householders in managing their waste, the Regional Waste Management Planning Offices commenced a programme of education and awareness funded by my Department earlier this year with radio advertisements encouraging the use of brown bin and focusing on food waste prevention. This was backed up with social media campaigns to further encourage the use of the brown bin. The Regional Waste Management Planning Offices will continue to roll out waste awareness and education initiatives this year, re-focussing on the use of the brown bin, but also concentrating on improving and increasing recycling, waste prevention and the correct use of the kerbside collection system. My Department is also undertaking an awareness campaign to inform people about the phase out of flat rate fees, which began during the summer and will continue this year.
 
Statement from the Household Waste Collection Price Monitoring Group (PMG).
No Change in Costs of Household Waste Collection Services
November 21st 2017

Household Waste Collection Price Monitoring Group (PMG) considers first two months of trend data on waste collection costs for residential homeowners.

The Household Waste Collection Price Monitoring Group was established by Minister for Environment Denis Naughten to monitor the on-going cost of residential waste collection to homeowners across Ireland as the flat-fee structure was being phased out as per the Government's decision in June 2017.

Composition of the PMG:
  • Chairperson Frank Conway, independent consumer financial expert (QFA)
  • Waste Policy & Resource Efficiency Division DCCAE;
  • Economist from the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment;
  • A statistician from the Central Statistics Office;
  • Shelfwatch – an independent price monitoring group.

    To date, the PMG has met on three (3) separate occasions:

    13th September 2017
    11th October 2017
    14th November 2017
Market surveillance

The market surveillance system was put in place to monitor the bin collection prices offered by service providers during the phasing-out of flat-rate charges. Data is being collected monthly from waste collectors across Ireland.

Structure of the surveillance

The PMG has confirmed there is no single or uniform pricing arrangement available to homeowners across Ireland for the collection of household waste. Because of this and in order to effectively identify and track the full mix of pricing options, a total of 19 individual collection companies are currently being monitored. When taking into account the different individual service providers across multiple locations, a total of 33 service offerings are being actively monitored.

For example, service charge plus per kg weight charge; service charge plus charge per lift; service charge including weight allowance plus per kg excess weight charge, and various other versions.

The monitoring company has recorded two months of service provider price data, which is equivalent to a one-month trend (i.e. month-by-month comparative data).

The PMG notes that very little has changed in the market over the course of one month of trend data.

The company will continue to report back to the Group on a monthly basis.

ENDS



Enquiries to:
[email protected]
Mr. Frank Conway, QFA.
Chairperson, Household Waste Collection Price Monitoring Group
 
Barna waste Galway
29.17 direct debit monthly, allowance of 75kg waste a month and 22 cent a kg over, recycling free, fortnightly collection.
 
thanks galway pat, does the 75 kg allowance include dry recycle? do you have compost bins and is the excess charge the same? Thorntons in Leinster / Dublin have a similar scheme but the monthly allowance is lower at 40kg/month.
 
No just 2 bins we are rural Galway here and are lucky enough to have a bit of space we can do our own composting, there is no charge for recycling materials.
 
Ok thanks, does the weight of the recyclables collected contribute to your monthly allowance 75kg?
 
At €350 per year fixed standing charge this would appear to be one of the highest in the country.

The 75 kg monthly allowance for refuse is very generous so it should be possible to keep the per weight charges to near zero.
 
KWD have jacked up their annual "service" charge again from €204 to €210

  • Waste per kilo 25c
  • Recycle per kilo 0c
  • Food Waste 15c Kilo (introduced in 2016)
  • Provide a 6 weekly glass collection free of charge.

In common with many other domestic waste management companies KWD do not post their rates ("service" fee and per weight rates) on the internet. (apart from flat rate introductory offers)
In common with many other domestic waste management companies KWD do not communicate rate increases to their customers - they simply increase the rate and invoice the customer.
When you pay the increased invoice you are "deemed" to have accepted the change in contract.

In Kerry we have had "pay by weight" for over 10 years but appear to be going backward now with year on year increases on "service" fee on top of per weight rates. On a typical bill the service fee element is close to 60% and the per weight is about 40%. The incentive to reduce, reuse and recycle is decreasing year on year.

The sector does not appear to be regulated from a consumer perspective.

BiN
 
Interesting report from the ccpc: https://www.ccpc.ie/business/wp-con...-of-the-Household-Waste-Collection-Market.pdf.

My "service" charge is now €222 / year with per kilo rates of:
  • Waste per kilo 25c
  • Recycle per kilo 0c
  • Food Waste 15c Kilo
....must be nearly the highest charges in the country.

It pains me to think that "standing" charges are now greater than the flat rates charged just a few years ago and thats before any per kilo or per lift charges!

The department of the environment has a price monitoring group and their reports are interesting.

https://www.dccae.gov.ie/en-ie/envi...ring-group/Pages/Price-Monitoring-Group-.aspx

It appears to me that there is no clear advocate for the consumer in this situation.

Every time there is a controversy the industry use it as an excuse to jack up standing charges and introduce "confusopoly".

One suggestion worth persuing is that the providers be obliged to publish their price plans on the their web page and be restricted to offering customers no more than five or six alternatives.

BiNOM
 
My "service" charge is now €232 / year with per kilo rates of:

  • Waste per kilo 25c
  • Recycle per kilo 0c
  • Food Waste 15c Kilo
....must be nearly the highest charges in the country.

Is anyone paying higher rates anywhere?

In Kerry we have had "pay by weight" for over 12 years but appear to be going backward now with year on year increases on "service" fee on top of per weight rates. On a typical bill the service fee element is close to 60% and the per weight is about 40%. The incentive to reduce, reuse and recycle is decreasing year on year.

The sector does not appear to be regulated from a consumer perspective.

BiN
 
I pay €83.25 per quarter (so €333/year) for a quarterly allowance of 375 kg general waste. I never exceed this despite filling a 360 litre bin every fortnight (so never have to pay the 17 cent per kg over surcharge). Recycle and compost are collected at no additional charge regardless of weight. Affectively this is a flat fee which suits me.
 
Annual "service" charge is now €250 / year with per kilo rates of:

  • Waste per kilo 27c
  • Recycle per kilo 0c
  • Food Waste 15c Kilo
....must be nearly the highest charges in the country.

Is anyone paying higher rates anywhere?

In Kerry we have had "pay by weight" for over 14 years but appear to be going backward now with year on year increases on "service" fee on top of per weight rates. On a typical bill the service fee element is closer to 80% and the per weight is about 40% (10% refuse and 10% compost).

The incentive to reduce, reuse and recycle is decreasing year on year.

The sector does not appear to be regulated from a consumer perspective.

BiN
 
I'm on Greyhound's fixed monthly rate in Dublin, which does indeed seem to be a step backwards from the 'polluter pays' principle.

I can't find information on Panda's rates available anywhere, to see if they provide a better option.
 
With soft plastics now recyclable along with black trays, a little effort can seriously reduce waste and cost
I'm now at a waste bin once every 6 weeks and send a crammed recycling bin every 2 weeks
 
My bin provider, Oxigen, have advised of a 40% increase in my service charge from December. It's going up from 5 to 7 euro per month.

My other charges (on a pay as you use service) are 12.50 per black bin (with extra charges over a certain weight), and 7.50 per brown bin (again with extra charges).
I don't use the green bin service, as I find it cheaper to bring my recycling to the local centre (4 euro entry).

I compared the cost of pay as you use Vs an annual fee with unlimited usage a couple of years ago - pay as you use was cheaper. I must check it again following the latest increase.

Service is in Co Louth.
 
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