Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I did not expect to be back in the House discussing waste collection matters so soon but I am happy to hear people's views, share details on what I understand is happening and outline plans to address some of the issues.

In an open market, it is a matter for waste collectors to set charges at the level they consider to be competitive and in compliance with the requirements of environmental and other applicable legislation. As mentioned last week, the Government secured an agreement with all major waste collection companies to freeze charges so that customers would pay no more than they are currently paying for waste over the next 12 months. I assure Senators that this compromise was not lightly agreed and I sought assurances from the industry that it would abide by the principles. It should be noted that the vast majority of companies are abiding by the agreement and by the spirit of the agreement. They have kept customers on their existing price plans.

Earlier a Senator asked for the terms of the agreement, which are as follows. First, there was an agreed price freeze for 12 months until July 2017. Second, from January 2017 all customers will be able to see, through a dual-billing process, details on their bills in respect of the weight of waste of which they are disposing, the costs under the continuation of their current price plan and details of a comparative pay-by-weight charge. Third, customers would have an opportunity to choose to transition during this period to pay-by-weight charging or they can opt to remain on their current price plan.

There will be an intensive pubic awareness and promotional campaign by the Government that will help people understand the new system. It will explain how they can change their waste management behaviour and better manage their waste costs under a pay-by-weight system.

A full waste allowance was agreed with the industry for used adult incontinence wear. The issue affects approximately 60,000 families and generates in the region of 39,000 tonnes of waste. I think I said 40,000 tonnes of waste when I was here last but it is certainly around that figure.

At the end of the 12-month transition period that will conclude in July 2017, the Government will review the operation of the pay-by-weight scheme, including the effectiveness of the transition process. It will make decisions regarding the scheme's further roll out, regulation and oversight. In fact, we have given a commitment to examine the functioning of the entire waste market as part of the review process, which is something a number of Senators have requested.

While the majority of those in the industry have clearly honoured the agreement, there appear to be some instances of divergence from the terms, or if not the terms, certainly the spirit, of what was agreed. I consider that unacceptable. Anything that causes confusion on this issue is unhelpful and counterproductive to what was agreed last week. I have publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the decision of a particular company to require companies to opt out of pay-by-weight, as opposed to being offered the opportunity to opt in. I signalled in this House that the operation of the price freeze by the industry would be closely monitored. I said that if there was evidence of the agreement being breached, I would look at whether legislation is necessary to enforce it. If we find it difficult or impossible to get agreement on compliance across a range of providers, that is likely to influence the review of the functioning of this industry and this market. This could give rise to an examination of the need for a regulator to ensure we have absolute clarity in terms of predicted behaviour, charging systems and the parameters within which the providers operate. I have mandated senior officials from my Department to meet representatives of the waste industry as a matter of urgency early next week. I expect several issues concerning the consistent implementation of the agreement to be raised at that meeting. It will be made clear to the personnel from the waste industry that if a fair and reasonable approach is not being delivered, I will be forced to take further steps to ensure the agreement is honoured.

Issues seem to have arisen for some customers who are moving from refuse bags to bin services. We spoke about this briefly before the formal statements started. Notwithstanding the difficulties associated with trying to accommodate customers who use bags, and in respect of whom the collector has no data on last year's weights or charges, I am confident that a reasonable and fair solution to this issue can be found. As Deputy Ó Clochartaigh outlined to me, people in some parts of County Galway have their waste collected in bags that they purchase from shops. Under this bag tag system, refuse bags are collected sporadically, which means the same charging data might not be available in respect of certain customers and, therefore, it may be more difficult to agree a charge freeze in the cases of people who are having bags collected on the basis of need. I accept that there may be an issue here. We will look at how best we can deal with it.

It is important to say that waste collection in the form of using bags can be problematic. It is not the ideal way for refuse to be left on the side of a street or outside a home. Littering caused by ripped bags is an issue. Health and safety issues can arise for collectors when sharp objects are placed in bags. Litter can be caused by fly-tipping on streets and in other areas where bag collections take place. Little or no segregation of recyclable or food waste takes place, for the most part, when people put all their waste in a black bag or a bag of another colour. The use of bags leads to an inability to gather data for the purposes of statistical information and environmental reporting on the waste that is collected. The whole point of what we are trying to do with regard to pay-by-weight is to put weighing equipment on the refuse trucks to make sure we get clear calibration and consistency around weighing. We need to understand what volume or weight of waste people are producing. That is the idea in theory, but it is sometimes more complicated in practice. People who live down long laneways or boreens that trucks cannot use have to carry their waste 200 or 300 yards. It is very difficult to roll a wheelie bin for up to half a kilometre. Some people put them in the back of the car. Practical responses are needed, depending on where people live. My understanding from Connemara is that some practical difficulties are causing problems now. We need to look at that. I am aware of at least one local authority that has already introduced bylaws on foot of such problematic issues to remove from households the option of presenting household waste in bags for collection. I have spoken about the issues in terms of the use of bags.

With those issues in mind, and in the context of the planned introduction of pay-by-weight charging, which cannot easily be applied to bags, it was decided in April 2015 to phase out the use of bags for household waste collection where wheelie bins could be accommodated. That is the important issue. We are trying to switch over to wheelie bins where possible, but there are instances in which they cannot be accommodated. I refer, for example, to apartment complexes. The complex where I stay when I am in Dublin does not have enough wheelie bins for all of the tenants. This is an obvious issue. My Department, in consultation with the local authorities, has set criteria to be applied nationally with a view to the phasing out of bags in all areas other than those where it is not practical to use wheelie bins. When my officials meet representatives of the industry next week, they will discuss how to cater for those who have moved from bags to bins in the context of the current agreement.

I know this was a big issue in the Seanad today. To avoid dividing the House on the matter, I was happy to attend and try to give Senators an update. As I have said, I have asked my senior officials to meet representatives of the industry next week to tease out some of these issues. I have to say the agreement we had with the industry is being implemented, by and large. Many of the big operators have written to all their customers to inform them that a charge freeze has been agreed and that their payment plan for this year will be the same as it was last year. There are issues in areas where this is not happening. Problems are also arising where people are being asked to move from bags to wheelie bins. Some of these problems are accompanied by an increase in the standing charge. We will have a look at such issues and see whether we can resolve them as soon as possible by talking to the industry. The meeting in question should happen on Monday or Tuesday of next week.