Sir, – Given the uproar over changing bin charges, surely it’s time for a national waste collection utility. It should be called Irish Waste. Its first objective will be to install a waste meter in every house in Ireland. Tax breaks will be given to every household to have a meter installed (even if they don’t have any waste). Its main aim will be to create employment for hundreds of administrators who will collect bin and waste charges and to secure the employment of all council workers currently involved in waste collection. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN CULLEN,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
Sir, – I have a general waste bin and a recycling bin. Until the end of July 2016 I paid €288 for my general waste bin from AES. There is no charge for the recycling bin.
I opted for pay by weight in August 2016, and from then until now, I have paid €142, despite the Government moratorium on pay by weight.
These arrangements encourage me to recycle as much as possible to keep the general waste volume as small as possible.
I always knew that paying a flat rate was more expensive, so I opted for pay by weight as soon as it became available last year. – Yours, etc,
IAN BOOTH,
Enniscorthy,
Co Wexford.
Sir, – While I have absolutely no objection to paying for the collection of my refuse, a marvellous service, and not one that I take for granted, I do wonder at the shortsightedness of imposing penalties on the consumer rather than the producers of so much needless waste.
Why, for example, do plastics, which cannot be recycled, continue to be used in an increasing amount of packaging, when there are plenty of biodegradable or recyclable alternatives? Surely the problem should be addressed first at source. Unless the producers of so much needless waste are “encouraged” to use alternatives, they will not do so.
The success of the plastic bag levy did not come about by asking people nicely to be more environmentally aware, but by introducing that financial levy, which had an almost immediate positive effect. – Yours, etc,
MARIANNE MAGRANE,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.
Sir, – The headline on your article of July 6th reads “Panda to get access to customers’ property to check contents of bins”.
Surely no surprise. That’s what bears do! – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN BRACKEN,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – It’s time for our politicians to get back to the old (and oft-maligned) slogan “In the national interest”. Two examples. What is the best course for waste management? That we all try to reduce, reuse and recycle. Clearly we need to be nudged and encouraged to do this, hence the “pay by weight”. We all need to be more aware of water wastage, hence the metering of usage to encourage modest use and discourage waste.
Why are the “loud” interests, the people who don’t want to bother with civic spirit, and who want everyone else to pay for their lifestyles, being listened to, rather than the voice of good reason? – Yours, etc,
SHEILA DEEGAN,
Dublin 3.