Cork North Central Workers’ Party candidate councillor Ted Tynan has condemned the government decision to introduce “Pay by Weight” charges for domestic refuse and says the move will be completely counterproductive.  He also accused the government of keeping quiet about the new rules which will cause refuse charges to rocket upwards once the election is over.

Cllr. Tynan said the postponement of the introduction of the “Pay by Weight” system until next July is purely for electoral reasons and he has called for the scrapping of the plans which he said will lead to an inevitable increase in illegal dumping as people will simply not be able to pay the new charges which will impact heaviest on those with large families. This was not going to encourage recycling and would in fact cause people to stop recycling.

“The Workers’ Party predicted years ago that the privatisation of the refuse service would lead to ever-increasing charges for householders and the treatment of waste management as a for-profit business and / or revenue collection mechanism instead of a service in the interests of public health will have a reverse effect to what is allegedly intended”, said Cllr. Tynan.

“The Pay by Weight system will not achieve a reduction in waste, it will simply encourage illegal fly-tipping as people won’t be able to afford to pay.  It also ignores the drive by waste collectors to create even bigger and more noxious landfills such as the one at Churchfield which has caused much concern and discomfort for local residents.”

Cllr. Tynan also said the move to force additional wheelie bins on customers for segregation of different types of waste was all very fine for those with large gardens or sheds but many older homes had neither and householders have to choose between keeping smelly and insanitary bins in their homes or leaving them on the street where they become the focus of anti-social elements.