Fears householders will ‘contaminate’ recycling bins

The head of a large waste collection company has rubbished government claims that pay-by-weight bin charges are required, and has warned the new pricing regime will threaten the viability of the industry and could force small operators out of business.

Dermot O’Brien, who founded the Wiser Group which collects waste from around 50,000 domestic and commercial customers across Cork, said he has concerns householders could begin dumping residual waste in recycling bins to avoid pay-by-weight charges.

Such contamination of the recycling waste stream could jeopardise the viability of the industry’s business model, he warned.