PLANS BY Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to stop the roadside collection of glass bottles for recycling have been described as environmentally unfriendly.
The proposals are part of new draft bylaws which are to go to councillors for approval this year. They followed a period of public consultation.
Private waste contractors now collect all plastic items and bottles from the kerbside for recycling.
However, the council is proposing that residents take the bottles to the bottle bank themselves.
Dublin City Council, which is the regulator for the entire Dublin region, says glass collected directly from households in their green recycling bin cannot be properly and safely separated.
Panda Waste, the largest private collector of business and household waste in the county, has said the plans are environmentally unfriendly and counter-productive.
Panda director John Dunne said: “Our customers are shocked and horrified that their green and sound recycling habits could be made illegal by the council.”
He said international research had shown that kerbside collection of glass bottles led to double the amount of recycled glass.
The new procedures would involve residents making thousands of journeys to bottle banks, he said.
He stressed that Panda already has a glass-processing plant in Naas which separates the glass into its constituent colours for recycling.
The council is also proposing that all plastic items other than plastic bottles should be placed in the black bin as household waste and not in the green bin as at present.
