Pay-by-weight kills the incentive to recycle
If, as the council has stated, a standing charge will account for, on average, half the total annual cost to the domestic user, this means that the householders who recycle most of their rubbish will be at a financial disadvantage.
The arithmetic is simple if your household puts out an average amount of refuse your bill per annum will be 320. If you only put out half the average your bill will be 240 (160 standing-charge plus 80 by weight).
If the council collects the average from your household the cost will be 480 (160 standing charge plus 320 by weight).
The household sending half the average will pay 240 whereas one sending four times as much (ie, double the average) will pay only twice as much 480. Where is the incentive to recycle as much as possible?
Surely a fair and equitable system would charge by weight alone. You then pay exactly by weight and the encouragement is there to compost and recycle as much as possible. Is there any hope the council will consider its proposed inequitable charging system?
For the record we only put out one bag every five weeks or so. Current cost to us for 10 tags per year is 45. Also, when we enquired about the system on receipt of the council's letter to householders, dated January 31, 2003, we were told the new system would be 'billing by weight'. There was no mention of an additional standing charge. Will the council be prepared to respond through your columns, I wonder?
Howard Marshall,
Rockmills,
Kildorrery,
Co Cork.
