‘Stop burying waste or waste will bury us’
It has all the ingredients of a classic revolution except the issue isn't about universal suffrage or discrimination. It is all to do with refuse collection charges the bin tax.
Not since the PAYE tax protests of 1979 and the mid-1980s has an issue so animated such a large section of the Irish population. Refuse charges, like any other tax, were never expected to be popular but the tirade unleashed since their introduction has been all but unstoppable.
Yet much of the focus of the debate flies in the face of reality. Organised by the Socialist Party and Sinn Féin and tagged as a "left wing protest", the recent bin charge demonstrations in Dublin nevertheless bear all the hallmarks of ultra rightist propaganda.
It is perplexing that they should object to paying a tax which funds a necessary public service which allows exemptions for those unable to pay.
Ironically, the most vocal protests have been in the Dublin region where householders pay far less than other parts of the country.
Some householders pay up to €520 a year for a weekly collection service, compared to just over €100 in other counties. The most expensive domestic waste charges are in Sligo, where the service is privatised.
More and more counties are following that route. Privatised services throughout the country tend to charge much higher rates than those run by local authorities, yet that is the preferred option by Environment Minister Martin Cullen.
Last February the Government announced a set of new environment laws targeting the current waste crisis, including new powers for officials to set bin charges and heavy fines for illegal dumping.
Waste management is in crisis because of decades of overdependence on landfills, opposition to incineration and little interest in recycling. The mounting crisis could force large-scale exporting of waste as local authorities begin to close local dumps.
Kildare, Leitrim, Longford, Meath, Sligo and Wicklow county councils are already using the landfill sites of other local authorities. In Cork, the situation is critical with the main municipal dump at Kinsale Road due to close on January 1, 2005, just as the city assumes the mantle of European Capital of Culture.
In Galway, the main landfill at Ballinasloe also used by Longford County Council will close at the end of 2005, by High Court order.
In the greater Dublin region, the Arthurstown landfill in Kill, Co Kildare, which accepts waste from five local authorities, only has permission to operate until July 28 next.
Local authorities say the absence of incinerators for municipal waste is exacerbating the landfill crisis while Minister Cullen is adamant that councils sort out the mess at local level. His solution to the household waste crisis nationally is incineration, a system that works well in the environmentally aware Scandinavian countries.
However, that proposal has already drawn the wrath of environmentalists here and, in particular, the Green Party. The realities of Ireland's waste mountain are clear: we are in the top four of Europe's dirtiest nations, along with Britain, Italy and France.
According to Minister Cullen, Irish people face a stark choice stop burying waste or it will bury us.
LAUNCHING the graphic Race Against Waste campaign, Mr Cullen said: "Every person in Ireland is producing 700kg of household and commercial waste each year. If this continues, the figure will rise to two tonnes per person by 2015."
The hard-hitting television advertisement backing the campaign can only be shown after 9pm because of the shocking images it utilises.
One recent waste management initiative that has been overtly successful is the levy on plastic shopping bags. Introduced in March of last year, it has already reduced the amount of plastic bags in circulation by 95% and authorities in Britain are seriously considering a similar levy there.
Other initiatives are on the way, funded by an additional €35 million collected from the plastic bag levy.
Other sources of pollution are also being targeted. In common with plastic bags, the Government plans to use taxation as the main weapon in the fight against both greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide emissions.
Greenhouse gas emissions from cars and vehicles have almost doubled in Ireland in the last seven years.
According to the Central Statistics Office, emissions were 31% above 1990 levels by 2001, which is 18% above Ireland's Kyoto target. Ireland's commitments under the Kyoto protocol limit greenhouse gas emissions to 13% above 1990 levels between the years 2008 and 2012.
However, businesses could face a bill of €1.1 billion a year from the combination of the proposed carbon tax and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Government has estimated that the carbon tax due to come into force from the end of next year could raise €510 million a year from business.
In addition, some 40 energy producers and heavy energy users could face additional annual costs as high as €600 million a year from new restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions.
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