Ireland – national review of pay-as-you-throw schemes

This is a 2007 report from the Irish EPA which may be of interest.



This study reports on the findings of the first phase of a two-part project examining pay-by-use (PBU) charging systems in Ireland conducted between May and September 2006. The second in-depth case study phase will be completed in April 2008. The aim of this first phase was to investigate the implementation of PBU domestic waste charges in Ireland in order to discern their impact on domestic waste management activities such as waste presentation, waste recycling and illegal waste diversion.



The nationwide review was conducted by collating figures on waste management behaviour and data on PBU charges for each of the 34 local authorities in Ireland. Information was collected using telephone and e-mail surveys, postal questionnaires (in association with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (DoEHLG)) and data gathered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of the National Waste Database.



The data were then analysed using SPSS, a computer-based statistical package that allows for analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. SPSS was used to analyse data across local authorities in order to determine overall findings and trends on a nationwide scale. Each local authority was then analysed to determine the effects of PBU charges and any associated infrastructure on waste anagement behaviour on a case by case basis.



The key findings from the research are outlined below.



Waste collection



In Ireland waste collection can be undertaken by both local authorities and by private waste collectors operating within a local authority‘‘s functional area. The research found that 53%1 of local authorities have exclusively private waste collection within the local authority‘‘s functional area, 41% of local authorities have a combination of both private waste collectors and local authority collecting domestic waste, and 6% of local authorities do not have any private waste collectors within their functional area collecting domestic waste. The average number of waste collectors operating within each local authority‘‘s functional area is five. This means that collection practices can differ not only from local authority to local authority, but also within one local authority area.



PBU systems



There are three systems of PBU charges currently used in Ireland:



(i) volume-based systems

(ii) tag-based systems

(iii) weightbased systems.



Volume-based systems require householders to subscribe to a weekly bin collection, for which they pay an annual charge. This system is considered PBU as householders can select the size of bin they subscribe to; the annual charge is based on the volume of the bin, with larger bins incurring a higher annual charge. Tag-based systems include both tag-a-bag and tag-a-bin. These involve householders purchasing tags to attach to their bag or bin with collectors picking up only those bags and bins with the appropriate tag attached. The system is considered PBU as householders only pay for waste collection when they place bags or bins out for collection. Weight-based systems involve householders paying per kilogram of waste placed out for collection. The waste collector weighs the bin and bills the householder based on this weight.



Adoption of PBU systems



Of the 32 local authorities in Ireland that responded to the postal questionnaire, 11 (32%) use one PBU system within their functional area, 19 (56%) use two, and two (6%) use all three systems. This use of multiple systems within a local authority‘‘s functional area is as a result of numerous waste collectors operating within the area. Tag-based systems are the most common, with the majority of local authorities (82%) using such systems through one or more waste collectors within their functional area. Vol