Large refuse charges hike ‘inevitable’

HOUSEHOLDERS in Waterford face the prospect of one of the largest ever hikes in refuse charges from January as the county council struggles to meet the increasing cost of providing the service.

But the scale and impact of the increase won’t be clear until about a week after next month’s Budget, according to head of finance with Waterford County Council, Michael Quinn.

The local authority is still hopeful that money will be provided from government coffers to help it meet the cost of capping two of the region’s landfills. A €140 flat fee is being mooted by some as a way of helping meet the e10 million cost of dealing with the landfill sites.