LIMERICK City and County Council has been asked to make rubbish collection companies use a pay-by-weight system, amid claims that customers are paying for the collection of “non-existent rubbish”.
City north councillor, John Gilligan (Ind) made the call at a Metropolitan District meeting after members were briefed on new by-laws that will require households to account for how they dispose of their waste in a bid to curb dumping.
Cllr Gilligan said: “If you don’t fill your bin every week, you could do it every two weeks and that is the whole point of reducing weight. I am proposing we should have a pay-by-weight system. People might fill bins every three weeks, yet the waste companies are charging to pick up non-existent waste.
“If you go on holiday for two weeks, you’re still charged for a bin collection. The waste companies in Ireland are taking us for a ride”.
The new council bylaws will require householders to show they have paid for a bin collection, provide consent if they are sharing a bin or prove they are bringing their rubbish to a proper disposal facility.
Cllr Michael Sheahan (FG) raised concerns about people living in apartments who use bring banks.
“Throughout the city we have bring banks. People bring small amounts of waste which they deposit unsegregated. People are concerned about what will happen when these bylaws come in”.
Cllr John Costello (SF) said that while he has to acknowledge “that these services work in all kinds of weather, the timing of collections is a concern. I get calls that children are being woken at four in the morning by bin collections”.
Director of Services, Kieran Lehane said that households that only have a small amount of waste are covered.
“We certainly should be paying-by-weight because that encourages people to reduce waste”.
Councillors were told that people can use any authorised collector including deposit banks and people who share a bin can do so with permission from the main waste collection account holder.
