Dún laoghaire Waste Charges

PRESS RELEASE 15 March 2005

Greens call for smarter Waste Charges in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown

The Green Party has called on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown to ‘clean up its act’ on waste charges in the County.

They have called on the County Manager to introduce changes in how the County handles its waste. In a ten-point submission to the County Manager Derek Brady, the Party has called for reforms to make it easier for people to reduce, re-use and recycle.

Local TD and Green Party Spokesperson on the Environment Ciarán Cuffe stated:

“People want to improve the environment, but nobody wants to be stuck in a line of traffic queuing up to enter the Ballyogan Recycling Park. The changes outlined in our submission would make the system fairer and encourage more recycling.”

Green Party Councillor Ciarán Fallon stated:

“We also want changes in the charges. The current system forces people into giving the local authority an interest free loan. We believe that the Council should move away from demanding payment in advance for waste charges. If the ESB did this there would be uproar!”

ENDS (ten point plan below)

Green Party Ten Point Plan for Waste Management in Dún Laoghaire

Reduced payment for smaller bin
All householders on the wheelie bin service should be given the choice of a 120-litre bin instead of the standard 240-litre bin. This bin should have a reduced annual charge.

Parity of charges in the Metropolitan Area
The four Dublin Local Authorities should meet under the auspices of the Dublin Regional Authority and co-ordinate a uniform charging system for the four Dublin Councils.

Change from payment in advance to billing once service received
The Council should move away from demanding payment in advance for waste charges. If the ESB did this there would be uproar! Retrospective payments are the norm for other utilities. The current system forces people into giving the local authority an interest free loan.

Better Green Bin Service
Consider a fortnightly Green Bin collection if levels of recycling remain high. Investigate the collection of plastics using the Green Bin service. All households without a Green Bin should receive two large biodegradable clear recycling bags per month.

Better information for Householders
Supply an information leaflet including a map of recycling points within each neighbourhood to every household in the County. Provide improved information online.

End the flat charge for those on bag collections
Householders that still receive a bag collection should be offered a charge per bag option rather than a flat charge of €350 a year.

More Bring Centres
The amount of Bring Centres in the county must be doubled so that most neighbourhoods have recycling within walking distance. All bring banks should be cleaned regularly, and have notices advising users not to use the bins at night-time so that adjoining residents are not disturbed. The bottle-bins should have also internal rubber straps to dampen the noise made by bottles as is commonplace in mainland Europe.

Reinstate the Dún Laoghaire Recycling Depot Full recycling facilities should be reinstated in the town of Dún Laoghaire to replace the facility that was removed when the Council sold off the site at the back of 'Iceland' off Georges Street.

Full disclosure of costs
The Council should make available a full breakdown of the costings for all aspects of their Waste Management proposals such as refuse freighter costs, and wages, including capital and current expenditure.

Enforcement and fines
Increase fines and enforcement for littering and unauthorised dumping offences.

Ciarán Cuffe is a TD for the Dún Laoghaire Dáil Constituency. Ciarán can be contacted at Dáil Éireann, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 or 96 Patrick Street, Dún Laoghaire Tel. 284 6060 or 618 3082, Fax 618 4341, Email Ciaran CiaranCuffe.com, or Text Ciaran on 087 265 2075.