Dublin households facing fixed refuse collection charge

Thousands of householders in Fingal, Dublin, face having to pay a fixed charge of more than a €100 a year to have their refuse binned, it emerged today.

Up to now residents had to pay €4 to €8 for the tag they place on their rubbish bags put out for collection.

Fingal County Council defended the fixed fee introduction, which comes into force in January on a phased basis, saying its recycling services were being extended and it needed the extra revenue to cover costs.

PJ Howell, the council’s director of environment, said: “Rolling out the full recycling service will have implications for how Fingal County Council recovers its costs for operating the household waste management service and we undertake to make any changes in our charges as fair and user friendly as possible.”

“From 2008 we must introduce a fixed charge of €110 per year on a phased basis, once a household has been provided with the full range of kerbside recycling services, i.e. the green and brown recycle bins and the black bin for non-recyclable waste.

“We must operate a refuse and recycling service that pays for itself and at the moment it is heavily subsidised”, he said.

The Council said it is extending its brown bin service county-wide in order for householders to recycle up to two-thirds of their waste through their green and brown bin services.

It said last year €6.9m in recycling fees was funded by the council and the cost is set to rise further next year necessitating the household charge.

“For this new flat charge, each household will get a sticker for each of their three bins, but will only need to use a bin tag on their black refuse bin when they put this out for collection,” Mr Howell said.

“There won’t be any increase in the charge for a bin tag next year and people who qualify for waivers will not be affected.”

Fingal County Council will be sending leaflets to all affected houses detailing the charge.