2006 Waste Charges for Fingal

Bluetonic

Not really too sure where to throw this so may as well fire it in here.

Fingal County Council has today (10th november) announced that the household charge for waste disposal will change from the 1st January 2006. A standard 240-litre black bin tag will cost €7.50 and the smaller 140-litre tag will cost €3.75. The current 2005 charges are €6.00 and €3.00 respectively. While the new charges will pay for further improvements in recycling services the local authority continue to subsidise the cost of operating the service.

"Fingal residents on average put their bins out once every 2 weeks so even with the new charge, their average annual bill of €195 will still be one of the lowest in the country," outlined Gilbert Power, Director of Services for Environment with Fingal County Council. "In 2006, Fingal will spend €18m collecting and managing household waste and €12m of this will be paid by householders through their bin tags. While charges are currently covering two thirds of the cost of providing the service we will still be subsidising the service by the balance of €6m. Householders only pay when they put their bins out so there is still a real financial incentive for them to recycle. A monthly green bin service is also provided which, while it is free to the householder, costs us, the Local Authority €70 per household per year", continued Mr. Power. "Importantly, and unlike a lot of other counties where the service has been privatised, Fingal County Council operates a waiver scheme which in 2006 will benefit 9,000 households at a cost to us of €1.8M. Improvements to the scheme being implemented in 2006 will make it even fairer to those most in need of help, while continuing to promote waste reduction and recycling", he added.

Fingal County Council is acknowledged as one of the fastest growing local authorities in the country and in response to demands from its residents the Council over the last number of years has substantially increased the household recycling services available to them. Expenditure on recycling facilities and services has increased from €3.4million in 2003 to an estimated €8.3million in 2006 – an additional expenditure of €5million. 50% more waste has been recycled in Fingal over that period as a result.

Environmental Awareness Officer Sinead Hourihane was keen to further encourage householders to "take full advantage of household recycling facilities" and highlighted the major improvements in recycling services over the last few years including:

* Green bin service has been extended to 95% of households in Fingal, an increase of 30,000. A second green bin is now available on request.
* A organic brown bin scheme for kitchen and garden waste has started which will benefit 10,000 households in Fingal
* 2 new recycling centres opened in Coolmine (2004) and Balbriggan (2005)
* Coolmine Recycling Centre will be upgraded in 2006 at a cost of over €700,000
* New "Estuary Recycling Centre" for the Swords/Malahide area to be opened by May 2006
* New site identified for additional recycling centre in Mulhuddart, Dublin 15
* Green waste now accepted for recycling at Balleally Recycling Centre
* Green waste recycling available at Coolmine by end 2005
* 10 household hazardous waste collections provided throughout the county in 2005
* Bulky waste collection service provided throughout the county

"Householders should make full use of facilities for recycling packaging waste, clothes, batteries and household hazardous waste and save themselves some money in the process!," Sinead outlined.

Director Gilbert Power added finally, "Retaining control of the service by the Local Authority has meant that we can still provide a fair and good value service to the householder while continuing to expand our recycling facilities. We feel that we are working with our citizens, to provide a waste management service that is straightforward, fair and encourages us all to protect our environment. Residents in Fingal have responded excellently so far and we encourage them to continue to show others how it’s done," he concluded.

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