Co Monaghan's waste collection scheme has shown that pay-by-weight systems can reduce household rubbish by 30-40 per cent, writes Louise Dunne
Ireland is struggling with two linked issues related to waste. The first is the environmental problem of the sheer volume of waste to be disposed of: the majority of landfills in Ireland are near capacity and/or require upgrading to meet environmental standards, while the incinerator debate is far from resolved.
The second issue is the spate of public revolt in some areas against waste collection charges. These charges are essentially a service charge for local councils and corporations to finance the costs of waste collection and landfill.
A solution to both problems might be found in basing waste collection charges on weight rather than a simple flat fee or a volume-based charge.
Experience increasingly shows that weight-based waste collection charges can result in significant reductions in consumer waste, and it is hoped that charging by weight will give the customer the sense of direct control over how much they are charged and thus make the public more amenable to waste charges generally.
Existing volume-based waste collection charges work by either charging more for use of a larger bin or by selling tags to the customer that must be attached to each bin bag to be collected.
This does provide some incentive for waste reduction; however, some studies indicate that customers tend to react by compressing their waste, which is of no benefit environmentally as all waste is compressed before landfilling in any case. This system also fails to give any incentive to reduce waste to less than one small bin or tagged bag.
The example of Co Monaghan is encouraging. Their bin charge was changed from a fixed-rate to a weight-based fee in conjunction with the introduction of kerbside recycling in January 2003.
This was overseen by McElvaney Waste and involved a large investment in equipment, including bins with mirochips (which enables the trucks to read the bin information) and trucks.
According to Hugh McElvaney, the reduction in waste going to landfill has been of the order of 30-40 per cent.
About half of this can be accounted for by recycling.
The other half is probably a result of home composting of organic waste.
Some households may also have minimised their waste by changing purchasing behaviour - by buying goods with less packaging or with more recyclable packaging.
The reduction in waste in Co Monaghan was dramatic as soon as the weight-based system was implemented.
Before January 2003, the average annual waste going to landfill was approximately 1.25 tonnes per household.
Under the new system, households are billed bi-annually for the weight of waste collected over six months at a cost of €125 per ton - exactly the cost of landfilling the waste. The average annual waste produced per household is now 770 kg.
Households are thus paying the same or less than they did several years ago when under the fixed rate, even though landfill costs have almost doubled. The average charge to a household is now about €270 per year.
The charge is broken down as follows:
An annual fixed service charge of €170;
The pay-by-weight surcharge falls into bands, e.g., 1-100 kg. The cost is 12.50 cent per kg.
Thus a household producing 80 kg of waste per year would have a bill of €170 (service charge) + €100 (pay-by-weight) = €270.
Bills are sent out twice a year and must be paid in advance. Late payers are notified that their service will be suspended unless payment is received.
Once the bill is paid, the householder receives a hard-to-remove sticker to attach to their bin. There have been no significant issues with non-payment.
Another benefit to this billing system is that it produces accurate data on household waste that can aid planning and track results of new initiatives.
An additional benefit to the reduction in waste pickup is that the council can reduce the fleet size (with attendant environmental benefits), use extra time to extend collection routes, and cut back on staff. Less waste landfilled also adds savings in landfill fees and transportation and transfer costs. The life of landfills can be extended.
Following the example of Co Monaghan, Ireland could reduce household waste by 30-40 per cent.
While this would not solve our waste crisis, it would nearly halve the burden on landfills from domestic sources and afford us some breathing space in dealing with the difficult decisions that loom.
It would also mean that those who generate the most waste pay the most; the careful do not subsidise the careless; and the polluter-pays principle is more fully realised.