Dublin's poorest face waste charges

MORE THAN 37,000 of Dublin’s poorest households, which will be charged for waste collection for the first time in 2010, will face prosecution if they do not pay their bills, Dublin city manager John Tierney has said.

Low-income households and pensioners had been exempt from paying for refuse collection since the charges were introduced in 2001. However, continuing to offer a completely free service to so many householders was unsustainable both financially and environmentally, Mr Tierney said.

Households who have been entitled to waivers on their bin charges will not have to pay the annual standing charge, set at €96 in 2010 for large general refuse “grey” bins or €78 for smaller grey bins, which is levied on all other householders.

However, they will have to pay a charge every time they present a bin for collection of €6 for the large grey bin, €3.60 for the smaller grey bin and €2 for the “brown” organic waste bin.

Householders who continue to put their bins out for every available collection will face bills of €208 a year.

Mr Tierney said the charge had to be imposed as households with waivers had half the recycling rates of those without.

“I’m facing a situation where the presentation rates are almost double what the rates are for where people do pay, so I can’t sustain that.

“Equally you have to look at the situation where 37,000 households were getting a service for absolutely free – it’s very difficult to sustain that.”

The council was still subsidising the city’s domestic waste collection service by about €5 million in 2010 and the bulk of that money was being used to provide the waiver of the standing charge, Mr Tierney said.

“I absolutely recognise there does need to be some form of waiver. We’ve tried to achieve a balance by the quantum of waiver we’re still allowing and by trying to incentivise people if the do get involved in recycling and paying for the service.”

Households with waivers will get four free bin collections a year, one each quarter to encourage them to pay their bills on time. Those who do not pay will be pursued, he said.

“The same thing that happens with anybody who doesn’t pay, the service may be terminated as a result of that, or they may be prosecuted for the sums of money outstanding.”

However, Mr Tierney said a large number of people who would be faced with the new charge were already used to paying council bills, and he believed they would pay the new bill.

“There are many people who are used to paying the city council for the housing service in relation to renting properties from the council, that’s established for many years.”

The new charges were part of the council’s budget for 2010, which was passed by a two-to-one majority of councillors.