Despite the fact that these charges are set to rise by nearly a third in the coming months, the Irish Times has reported that Environment Minister John Gormley is planning on increasing them again before the end of the year.

According to the paper, the decision was made in a bid to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste that is dumped rather than recycled.

However, the executive of a leading waste company told the paper that the measures would lead to a sharp increase in the service charges levied on homeowners and businesses if waste companies are unable to find alternative uses for such materials.

He added that smaller waste disposal companies simply do not have the systems in place to effectively separate and recycle some of the waste that they collect.

Earlier this month, Tony Killeen, Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, said that encouraging more recycling was one of the Government’s top priorities.

“We should recycle and recover all our waste – but we must generate less waste to recycle,” he said.

“Businesses must reduce their costs if they wish to remain competitive and the most effective way of reducing costs including recycling costs is to prevent waste coming in the door in the first instance.”

James Cooper

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