Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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388. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government for clarification on charges for recyclable and non-recyclable domestic waste coming into effect on 1 July 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13175/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Government waste policy is predicated on the waste hierarchy as set out in the EU’s Waste Framework Directive. A number of specific measures have been, and will continue to be, introduced to reduce the amount of waste generated in the State and to increase the segregation of waste which cannot be prevented in line with Government policy. The introduction of pay-by-weight charges for the collection of household waste is one such measure.

The legislation requires that the collector will charge for each kilogramme of waste collected. The Government has set a minimummandatory fee per kilogramme for the different types of household waste: 11c for black bin (residual waste), 6c for brown bin (food/organic waste) and I have decided that a zero cent minimumfee per kilogramme should be set for green bins (recyclate). The collector may also charge a service fee, which will typically cover staff, collection, administrative and back office, capital and overhead costs.

As is now the case, it will be a matter for the collector to set charges at the level they consider to be competitive from 1 July 2016, in compliance with the requirements of the legislation.