As set out in the reply to parliamentary question number 540 of 11 October 2016, the waste management industry had committed to providing a full weight allowance for the disposal of non-infancy incontinence wear to patients supplied with such products by the HSE if a pay by weight per kilogramme charging system was introduced for household waste collection on 1 July 2016.
As the waste industry began releasing its proposed prices under pay-by-weight in June 2016, the Government relayed its concern to the industry regarding the reported escalation of waste bills for customers of certain companies and it was not implemented. However, my Department engaged with representatives of the waste industry to agree a way forward that results in all customers paying no more for the same level of service than they were currently paying for waste collection over the 12 month period to 1 July 2017. The Irish Waste Management Association, Greyhound and CityBin were directly involved in the discussions which led to the agreement.
The charges applied by waste management companies are a matter between those companies and their customers, subject to compliance with all applicable environmental and other relevant legislation, including contract and consumer legislation. In this regard, if a person has concerns regarding changes being made to any contract, advice may be sought from the Competition and Consumer Protection Agency, who can be contacted on 01 402 5500.
