Fears householders will ‘contaminate’ recycling bins

The head of a large waste collection company has rubbished government claims that pay-by-weight bin charges are required, and has warned the new pricing regime will threaten the viability of the industry and could force small operators out of business.

Dermot O’Brien, who founded the Wiser Group which collects waste from around 50,000 domestic and commercial customers across Cork, said he has concerns householders could begin dumping residual waste in recycling bins to avoid pay-by-weight charges.

Such contamination of the recycling waste stream could jeopardise the viability of the industry’s business model, he warned.

“In the processing and recycling business, as with anything, it becomes a product. And the price you get for that product depends on the quality of the material coming off the production line. The viability of the business is based on the quality of product we can get off the production line — it’s central to the whole thing,” he said.

His company has invested €3m in the last two years upgrading its recovery and sorting plant in Carrick-on-Suir to ensure a quality material is baled for shipment to Antwerp.

“Our big fear now is that when a customer has two bins — and he’s paying 17.5c per kg for the black bin and the recycling bin is ‘free’ — he will contaminate the recycling bin. One bag of residual waste can contaminate a whole bin,” Mr O’Brien said.

“We have been very strict with our customers over the years about this, about keeping the recycling material clean. We’ve actually lost customers because of it.”

But he said the policy has helped them maintain the quality of the recycling product they produce, and hold the price they get for it. Despite increased operating costs, they haven’t passed on a price increase in a decade.

“We’ve done everything we can for our customers over the years but we are being pushed into a new place with pay by weight,” he said.

He said some operators engaged in under-cost selling in recent years to gain market share but the fact some ran into financial difficulty was proof their prices were not sustainable.

“We’re like a Ryanair operation on the ground — high volume, small margin. We work on the 20c line. If your operations are good, and your costs are right, you will make money on that 20c. But below it, you’re in the fertiliser,” he said.

Dermot O’Brien, founder of Wiser Recycling in Cork, insists the price cap won’t work and fears some operators will be put out of business

Wiser has also invested €2m in the last two years gearing up for the new pay-by-weight system, investing in new trucks, a new bin chipping system, IT and admin systems.

“Now the Government is talking about a cap on our charges. But will they cap my insurance costs, the price of our fuel bills, our tyres, our financing costs?” he asked.

The new pay-by-weight system is being introduced to help ensure Ireland meets its EU waste targets which require recycling of 50% of municipal waste by 2020 to comply with the EU Waste Framework Directive. Ireland is at about 40% and has been at that level for some years.

But Mr O’Brien said the private waste collection industry drove the improved recycling rates. “The rates are as good as they are ever going to get,” he said. “We have exceeded every target set for us and the brown bin system will deliver further benefits, and that was done by private enterprise, by people like myself, my family and others like us in this business, working 80 hours a week. We did everything asked of us. The EU can’t say one word to Ireland on this issue.”

Despite the IWMA backing pay by weight, Mr O’Brien has come out against the view of the body he helped establish. “There are much higher operating costs in Dublin,” he said.

“The cost of picking a bin for Wiser in Ballydehob is not the same as the cost of picking a bin in Ballymun. The cost of picking a bin down a country road where you only have four or five customers a mile is not the same cost of picking a bin in a housing estate where you might have 300 customers.

“There have to be variables. The cap is not going to work. What will the price cap be? The cap won’t fit, I can tell you.”

He also dismissed Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s pledge to make Ireland one of the best small countries in which to do business.

“It’s not the best little place in the world for an Irish man. It is if you’re coming in with foreign direct investment,” he said. “When Donald Trump came into to buy a hotel and golf club in Doonbeg, they rolled out a red carpet for him.

“Nobody has rolled out a red carpet for me, or my family, or the other families in this industry. We’ve done more for Ireland than Donald Trump will ever do for Ireland.

“This sector employs 4,500 people. All we’re asking for here is for some respect. You must listen to the industry.”

He also dismissed claims of a cartel operating in the sector and said there is competition in the market.