Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Question 362: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that commercial waste collectors have, from the 1 September 2011, increased the charge to domestic customers for the collection of 240 litre general waste bins by approximately 15%; if his further attention has been drawn to the fact that commercial waste collectors are claiming the increase is due to the increase in the landfill levy; his plans to alleviate the costs for families and persons on low incomes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26296/11]

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 363: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government arising from the increase in the landfill levy from €30 to €50 per tonne, whom he envisages paying the additional charge, the customers or waste collection firms. [26302/11]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 362 and 363 together.

Our current reliance on landfill as the primary waste treatment method is unsustainable. Ireland must comply with challenging targets under the EU Landfill Directive with regard to the diversion of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill.

The landfill levy is chargeable on waste presented for disposal at landfill facilities. The increase in the levy to €50 per tonne which I recently introduced is intended to send a strong price signal to the producers, collectors and managers of waste, to deter against unsustainable behaviour and to encourage a shift away from landfill to waste management practices which are more closely aligned with the waste hierarchy. Further increases in the levy are also planned, to €65 per tonne in 2012 and €75 per tonne in 2013. I hope to see significantly improved levels of prevention, recovery, recycling and reuse of waste as a consequence of these increases. Assistance to both householders and businesses in reducing their generation of waste is available through the National Waste Prevention Programme, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency. The latest available data from the Environmental Protection Agency's National Waste Report 2009 state that in that year 0.24 tonnes of household waste per person was sent to landfill. This equates to 0.672 tonnes per household (based on the average Irish household size of 2.8 persons), which would indicate an average increased cost per household of approximately €13.44 per annum due to the change in the landfill levy rate. However, this does not take account of the dissuasive effect of the levy increase referred to above, the intention of which is to encourage prevention and recycling and therefore decrease the amount of waste generated per household which falls subject to the levy, and reduce the impact of the levy increase on waste charges.

As the waste collection market is currently structured, the pricing schemes used by private waste collectors are a matter for determination as between the service providers and consumers of the service, subject, of course, to a service provider's collection permit and other legal responsibilities being complied with. Any consumer who is dissatisfied with the service currently provided to them may consider switching to an alternative service provider, although this may not always be a realistic option in certain areas. The Programme for Government includes a commitment to introduce competitive tendering for household waste collection, under which service providers will bid to provide waste collection services in a given area, for a given period of time and to a guaranteed level of service. Such a system has been associated with reduced costs to householders. A public consultation on the issues involved, designed to inform the policy development process, has recently concluded. The responses received are being examined and I intend to bring policy proposals to Government before the end of the year.

An objective of any such policy will be to help ensure that households and service providers are incentivised to behave in a sustainable fashion – pricing structures more closely aligned with the polluter pays principle are one such method of driving improved environmental performance. The question of how best to meet the needs of low income households will be amongst the principal issues to be considered in finalising household waste collection policy.