Waste disposal ‘should return to local authorities’

BIN charges will fall across the country if local authorities take back full control over household waste, according to a report commissioned by the Department of the Environment.

However, waste to energy plant operators have claimed that householders could see increases of up to 30% in their bin charges if these recommendations published yesterday are made into policy.

The authors of the International Review of Waste Management Policy had described household collection costs as “astronomically high”, stating some homeowners were paying €400 per year compared to an annual cost of €60 in Britain. The authors of the report, Eunomia Consultants, said they could not find a clear reason for the huge differences in Irish bills.