Every household, business and industrial premises in Dublin should have to pay for the collection of their rubbish, based on the volume they produce, according to a major review of waste management in the capital published yesterday.
MCCK, the consortium of Irish and Danish consultants which carried out the review, says such userelated charges would not only reflect the "Polluter Pays Principle" but are also essential to fund a £600 million wastemanagement strategy over the next 15 years.
The consultants say charges for rubbish collection - probably in the region of £100 per annum, on average - would also serve as an incentive to minimise and recycle the waste currently going to landfill, which is a major objective of the new strategy.
They see the Polluter Pays Principle as "the financial motor to drive any new waste-management strategy," but say a detailed analysis of the scale of charges proposed, and their apportionment between the domestic, commercial and industrial sectors, is needed.
The report recommends extending home separation and collection of recyclables in the Dublin region, such as the Kerbside project in the southwestern sector of the city, to cover 80 per cent of its population, with the provision of "bring banks" in the city centre.
It also proposes providing 10 new waste-recycling centres, where people could bring recyclable wastes and bulky items. Four of these would be in the Dublin Corporation area, with two each in Fingal, South Dublin and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown.
The domestic source separation of waste would include household organic waste, using a dual-bin system with collections on alternate weeks. Harmful wastes such as batteries, oils and paints would also be collected separately from household and business premises.
The strategy also recommends the provision of facilities for composting green garden waste, such as the one in operation at St Anne's Park in Raheny, and composting as well as biological treatment of kitchen organic waste in one or two plants serving the Dublin area.
"The overall effect of the strategy would be to cut dependence on landfill from approximately 80 per cent for all wastes in 1997 to 16 per cent by the year 2004, provided new recycling schemes such as new thermal treatment plant are put in place," the report says.
A total investment of £253 million in new waste facilities - £29 million on collection, £165 million on recycling and recovery and £59 million on landfill - is envisaged by the consultants. This would effectively double waste management costs, currently £24 million a year.
The report concedes that the recommended strategy is "the most expensive option of those considered." But it says this would result in the highest recycling levels and the lowest quantities going to landfill, in line with EU and national waste management policies.
The consultants say that this single regional waste management plan should be adopted before the end of 1998 after a period of public consultation, starting on July 1st.
First, however, it will have to be considered by the elected members of the four local authorities.
Reacting to the report, Mr John Gormley TD (Greens) said that while he welcomed the application of the Polluter Pays Principle, it was "obvious that the cornerstone of the waste management plan is an incinerator" which would give rise to dioxins.
VOICE, the new Irish environmental organisation, welcomed the various community-based initiatives to promote waste minimisation, but said the "great danger" was that these would be hindered by the provision of an "environmentally unsustainable" incinerator.