Pay by weight will force household waste charges up councillors fear

 The upcoming change to a pay by weight household waste collection system will lead to both an increase in charges and illegal dumping, councillors have warned.

 From July of this year waste will be weighed in order to get households prepared for the change to a pay by weight system that will be introduced 12 months later, councillors were informed at the recent Environment SPC meeting in Mullingar. A number of local waste management firms have already made the switch.

Speaking at the meeting, councillors voiced their fears that the changes will lead to bigger bills for households and subsequently a rise in illegal dumping across the county.

Describing the plan as a "farce", Cllr Kevin 'Boxer' Moran said that the powers that be are "driving people into illegal dumping"

“Westmeath County Council spent €1m alone last year on illegal dumping, we need to speak to the people in Dublin who come up with these brainwaves – do they not realise that they’re going to drive more people to dumping?"

In agreement was Cllr Paddy Hill who was “absolutely worried” about an increase in charges, as was Cllr Johnny Penrose, who said, illegal dumping is a huge problem.

“Some people are using the council bins on the street,” he added.

 Council official Greg Duggan said that he believed that "charges shouldn’t go up, in fact it could go down".

 “The weighing system comes in July, you will have a chance to see how the system works, and you will start paying for that system from July 2016. The brown bin is cheapest per kilo. Brown bins will be rolled out all over,” he said.