Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Waste Management Act 1996, as amended, and the Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations 2007, as amended, set out the regulatory framework for the collection of waste in the State.  The obligations on local authorities with regard to collecting household waste are set out in section 33 of the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended. In summary, it provides that each local authority shall collect, or arrange for the collection of, household waste within its functional area. The obligation to collect or arrange for the collection of waste shall not apply if there is an adequate waste collection service available in the local authority's functional area; if the estimated costs of the collection of the waste would, in the opinion of the local authority, be unreasonably high; or if the local authority is satisfied that adequate arrangements for the disposal of the waste concerned can reasonably be made by the holder of the waste.

It is open to any organisation, commercial enterprise or local community group, to apply for a waste collection permit to the National Waste Collection Permit Office, which is the nominated authority to issue permits on behalf of all local authorities, should they wish to collect household waste in the State. In addition, and depending on the scale of the planned operation, it may also be necessary to apply to the relevant local authority and-or the Environmental Protection Agency for a waste facility permit or licence for the storage and-or sorting of waste.

As Minister, I do not provide any supports to any organisation, commercial or community-based, to facilitate the establishment of waste collection services. As the Deputy may be aware, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, is conducting an independent study on the operation of the household waste collection market.  The ongoing results from the Price Monitoring Group, in conjunction with the study being undertaken by the CCPC, will provide an evidence base for future policy decisions on the household waste market.

I accept the point that Deputy makes about the confusion about what goes into which bin. As of the end of last year, we have a uniform list of what goes into the recycling bin. That is available and we have been running campaigns about that. Whether one is in Cork, Fingal, Roscommon or Cavan, the same material goes into the green recycling bin.

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