On Houseld waste disposal in Ireland
Fine Gael
Monday 22nd March 2004
People will be hit twice for waste disposal as Cullen rolls out another Trojan Horse
Local Authority charges could increase to as much as €600-€700 per annum
Fine Gael Spokesperson on the Environment and Local Government Bernard Allen TD today (Monday) has said that Minister Cullen has a number of major questions to answer on the proposed introduction of a pay-per-use waste system. "Will people be hit by a double whammy as they try to dispose of their waste but they remain the victims of producers who still provide excessive packaging on their products? Minister Cullen must also confirm whether he intends to terminate the waiver scheme, operated by most local authorities."There are vast areas throughout the country with inadequate recycling areas. Many people, especially the old and the sick will be unable to utilise recycling facilities. Those people who are on a low income and have no transport facilities will not be able to recycle heavier waste - such as glass bottles - at recycling facilities, but will have to pay extra to dispose of these items in their household waste.
"Minister Cullen's introduction of a pay-per-use charge is a Trojan horse to introduce a second waste charge, as he has already conceded himself that there will be a national waste charge for collection with an additional pay-by-use charge on top. In the absence of information regarding the level of charges to be imposed, Minister Cullen appears to be using this announcement as a Trojan horse to introduce the principal economic rate for waste collection which will see local authority charges increased to €600-€700 per year.
"This is another election announcement by a Government fearing the upcoming Local and European Elections, and what seems to be favourable, positive news could turn out to be a cost nightmare for so many people once the Local Elections are over.
"We must ask why Minister Cullen and his Government are not introducing this changeover now and are instead waiting until January 2005, six months after the Local Elections."
Green Party
22 March 2004
“Cullen ‘wakes up’ and finally adopts Green Party policy on waste charges”
Trevor Sargent TD, Green Party Leader and spokesperson for the Environment, has given a qualified welcome to the announcement made today by the Minister for the Environment, Martin Cullen, of his plans to belatedly end flat charges for waste collection by 1 January 2005.Trevor Sargent TD stated today that, "Martin Cullen has finally woken up and adopted Green Party policy on waste charges. The Minister could have avoided enormous anger at the injustice of a flat charge if he had heeded the advice of the Green Party from the start. At last the tag-a-bin system used by Fingal County Council or a weight-based system is being recognised by Minister Cullen as the way to go."
Each person in Ireland now produces 700 kg of waste each year. This figure is expected to rise to two tonnes per person by 2015 if further waste management strategies are not introduced.
"Therefore the Green Party now calls on the Minister to set further deadlines for :
1) The provision of comprehensive kerbside recycling facilities so that people have easy access and an alternative to paying the waste charges.
2) Separate collections to separate wet compostable material from dry material such as plastics, metals, paper etc.
3) The re-introduction of re-usable packaging eg milk bottles.
4) A beverage container levy - deposit to encourage the return of cans, bottles etc" said Deputy Sargent."Minister Cullen still needs to grasp the nettle of producer responsibility and make urgent progress along the path towards ultimate waste minimisation but the 1 January deadline is a start," concluded Trevor Sargent TD.
Dan Boyle TD today questioned the timing of Minister Cullen's announcement to end flat charges for waste collection.
"It is not by chance that the Minister has today announced plans to end the highly unpopular flat charges for waste collection just months before the upcoming local elections. The amount of waste produced per person per year was 500 kg when the Fianna Fáil/Progressive Democrats took office in 1997. This figure now stands at 700 kg and this enormous increase is the real indicator of the Government's failure to take waste seriously. Instead of supporting the construction of poisonous stacks in the form of incinerators around the country, the Minister and the Government would be better served in properly tackling the problem of waste creation," said Deputy Boyle.
Sinn Féin
22nd March 2004
McDonald welcomes Cullen to the Real Worldon waste charges
Sinn Féin candidate for the European Elections in Dublin Mary Lou McDonald has welcomed Minister Martin Cullen to the 'real world' following his decision to introduce a 'pay-by-use' scheme for waste collection. However while welcoming the announcement as a vindication of one of the key arguments against the Bin Charges, Ms McDonald pointed out that "the Bin Charges remain an unfair way of paying for waste collection. Charges like these have crippled working class households across Dublin as they have increased year after year."Sinn Féin has played a key role in opposing the Bin Charges in Dublin over the last number of years with party members imprisoned for their part in the protests.
Ms McDonald said: "One of the problems we had with the Bin Charges from the start was the ham-fisted fashion in which the Government introduced them, with different systems existing in different areas. The flat rate currently existing in many parts of the country, including Dublin, does nothing to encourage recycling. It vindicates one of the arguments those of us opposed to the Charges have been putting forward from day one and I welcome Minister Cullen to the real world.
"But while welcoming the fact that the pay-by-use scheme will now be used across the state, the Bin Charges remain an unfair way of paying for waste collection. Charges like these have crippled working class households across Dublin as they have increased year after year and the recycling infrastructure in place is wholly insufficient.
"The notion that the charges are true to the principle of Polluter Pays is another lie from this Government. Who are the polluters? The people who put out a bag of rubbish a week, most of which is unnecessary packaging from manufacturers? People who provide less than two million tonnes of waste a year? Or is it the well over 70 million tonnes produced by industry, large-scale agriculture and big business.
"If the Government is serious about recycling and protecting the environment, it can begin by providing proper recycling facilities, instead of standing idly by while the IGB glass recycling facility, the only one in the state, was shut down. It can turn away from incineration and City Council's proposals to build a massive incinerator in Ringsend and adopt a progressive waste management strategy as outlined in Sinn Féin's Waste Management Charter."
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