Greyhound customers face pay-by-weight deadline

One of the country’s main waste collection firms has put the onus on householders to opt out of paying by weight — setting a July 31 deadline to do so.

In a letter to customers dated June 27, Greyhound says householders have the option of remaining on their current price plan for 12 months from August 1, or paying by weight from the same date. Only customers who wish to remain on their current plan are obliged to contact the company.

The letter states: “If you wish to stay on the pay-by-weight plan communicated previously, you don’t need to do anything — our system will automatically transfer you to this plan on August 1.” Those who wish to stay with their existing plan must contact Greyhound.

The company, which collects refuse from 120,000 households in Dublin City and South Dublin, has a service charge of €59.95, set to increase to €169 a year under the pay-by-weight scheme, with fees of 35c per kg of black bin waste and 23c per kg of brown bin waste.

Greyhound said it agreed to a 12-month price freeze as per the recent agreement between the Government and waste industry and that, “following feedback” from customers, they now have a choice of staying with their existing plan, frozen for a year, or opting for pay by weight.

“We have made this process as easy as possible by providing multiple contact points — email, telephone, or by returning forms posted to them,” said Greyhound, adding that it is giving customers one month’s notice “to inform us of their preferred price plan”.

“This allows time for customers to make a decision and also gives us time to adjust our systems.”

To facilitate an extra month’s notice, it is extending customers’ current service plan to July 31.

The new pay-by-weight charges were due to kick in on July 1, but, amid growing opposition, Environment Minister Simon Coveney negotiated a 12-month price freeze with the industry.

Announcing the deal on June 21, he said it would give customers time to see, through dual billing, details in bills about the amount of waste they are disposing of; costs under the continuation of their current plan; and details of the comparative pay-by-weight charge.

However, with households forced to make a decision in the next month, Greyhound customers will not be able to make this comparison.

A spokesperson for the Department of the Environment said it is a matter for Greyhound and that customers “should check with their service provider and look at the terms and conditions” to make sure they choose the most beneficial system.