Another council quits waste collection

KERRY County Council has become the latest in a long list of local authorities to exit loss-making waste collection services.

County manager Tom Curran yesterday announced he had signed a contract with private operator Killarney Waste Disposal Ltd (KWD) for the sale of the business, with effect from December 5.

He yesterday declined to disclose the price paid, saying KWD had insisted on confidentiality as part of the contract and the matter was also commercially sensitive.

There will be no forced redundancies among staff involved, who will have the option of being redeployed to other council work.

But at a meeting in Tralee, councillors expressed dismay at Mr Curran’s decision and said it was a ‘black day’ for the council.

Councillors also said privatisation could lead to increased charges to householders; services might not be provided on uneconomical routes and waivers might no longer apply.

However, councillors were assured householders on waivers would continue to have terms which would be at least as good until February 2013 and the same collection routes would also continue to be serviced until that date.

Mr Curran said it would be imprudent for the council to continue providing the service, pointing out the council had lost almost 1,000 customers to private operators in the past three years and was losing around €700,000 per year.

The manager said he took the decision after a review, adding that efforts had been made to reduce operating costs but customer numbers had fallen from 8,365, in 2008, to 7,386, this year.