DUBLINERS may have to steel themselves to pay for waste disposal, and will have to put more effort into separating and recycling their waste when a new waste-management strategy plan is introduced.
This will follow a report from a Danish-Irish consultancy company, MCCK, which has been retained by Dublin Corporation and the three Dublin county councils to investigate the problem of waste disposal and consider solutions.
A public exhibition aimed at generating debate on this was officially opened in Dublin Corporation's civic offices yesterday, and will be seen in libraries and shopping centres around the city and county. The report will be submitted at the end of the year.
Leaflets accompanying the exhibition outline the problem of waste in the Dublin area, and the options for dealing with it. It includes a questionnaire seeking the opinion of the public on how to deal with waste. The last question on this is: "Do you agree with the principle that the polluter pays?"
Dubliners generate two million tonnes of waste a year, and this is increasing at a rate of 3 per cent a year, according to the Lord Mayor, Mr Brendan Lynch, who opened the exhibition. The vast majority of this goes into landfill, and this cannot be sustained, he said.
Construction and demolition waste accounts for about half of this. This could be recycled as foundations for roads and buildings relatively easily, Mr Ciarain Murray, principal officer with Dublin Corporation said.
The EU principle of the polluter pays" will have to apply, he said. Otherwise people will not take the problem of waste seriously. This refers to industry and the generators of commercial waste. It also refers to households.
If we are to adopt the highest standards it will become very expensive, and costs will increase from £7 a tonne for landfill to £30 a tonne to comply with the new standards. Someone will have to pay, whether it is from general taxation or related to usage. The person who generates most pays most. This would also have the effect of reducing waste. Having said this, it will boil down to a political decision," he said.
Recycling is everyone's favourite solution", but it is not an easy one, according to the leaflet. The EU target for the recycling of waste is 20 per cent. Dublin recycles 4.5 per cent of its waste at the moment, down from 7 per cent three years ago. The fall is largely due to the collapse in the market for recycled paper. The fact that recycling was based on commercial viability meant it was no longer collected.
Other options being considered by the consultants include separate treatment of organic (food and garden) waste; the conversion of waste to energy; incineration; and the treatment of waste before depositing it in landfill sites. However, the use of landfill is the least desirable EU option, according to the leaflet.
Meanwhile, the Minister for the Environment has announced grants of over £1 million to six private-sector waste-recycling projects, involving a total capital expenditure of £3.5 million. Two are in Dublin, and the others are in Cos Monaghan, Galway, Wicklow and Limerick.