Waste market reforms
Side-by-side competition for domestic waste collection will continue under the Government’s new waste policy, but brown bins will be rolled out nationally by 2016. Stephen Dineen reports.
Competition rules for domestic waste collection permits will remain unchanged following Environment Minister Phil Hogan’s publication of a new waste policy. The decision represents an abandonment of the Programme for Government commitment to allow private firms and local authorities to bid to provide waste collections for an entire local authority for a set timeframe. At present licence holders compete for collection side-by-side.
‘A Resource Opportunity’ commits to a roll-out of brown bins to divert organic waste by 2016 as well as stronger regulation of the existing side-by-side competition model within the household collection market. The number of planning regions will be reduced from 10 to three or less, with freed up resources to be used for waste enforcement.
On the question of reforming household waste, ‘A Resource Opportunity’ states that a regulatory impact analysis had identified “a number of risks associated with fundamental changes to the existing market structure.” Service delivery failure could have an extreme impact on human health, it noted. Small to medium sized waste management companies might have been disadvantaged by the introduction of franchise bidding relative to larger firms.
Measures to strengthen the permitting system will include: ensuring collectors deliver mandated service levels; management of waste in accordance with the waste hierarchy; and pricing structures designed to increase environmentally sustainable behaviours (i.e. waste reduction and segregation).
Controls to ensure that only ‘fit and proper’ individuals and companies are allowed to hold such permits will be implemented. Customer charters, setting out information for customers regarding charging, dealing with customers in arrears and arrangements for switching from one collector to another will become mandatory for service providers. Inspection and enforcement concerning collection permits will be increased.
Mandatory service standards for household waste collection will be introduced. The standards will initially cover a minimal national standard of segregated collections of residual waste and dry recyclates. Its ultimate goal will be the elimination of landfill, for which there is only 12 years of remaining capacity.
Waste management plans will remain a function of local authorities, the policy states. It adds: “A shared service approach to planning of waste management will be expected to yield more efficient outcomes under a new regional waste management planning configuration which will be decided by the local authorities.” Evaluation of existing waste management plans (to ensure compliance with the Waste Framework Directive) will be completed by the end of the year. New plans will be implemented by the beginning of 2014.
Householders will be subject to new obligations. They will have to demonstrate that they are availing of an authorised waste collection service or are managing their waste in an environmentally acceptable manner. A waiver scheme and other alternative support schemes for low income households will be introduced.
In the area of prevention, the new policy states that the EPA will, as part of its review and renewal of the National Waste Prevention Programme, focus on resource efficiency, prevention and reuse as well as developing co-ordinated approaches with other state agencies. This will be completed by the end of the year. Prevention will be central to new regional waste management plans and all current and future producer responsibility schemes. The Government will produce a public sector reuse policy and the current review of producer responsibility initiatives (PRIs) will examine reuse of electrical and electronic equipment.
Recycling
The Government acknowledges that initiatives used to roll out the use of brown bins (for organic waste) have been unsuccessful, and commits to a formal waste collection permit requirement for the bins. Household food waste regulations will be published in September, accompanied by a comprehensive regulatory impact analysis. Separate organic waste collection will be mandatory from households within population centres of a given size, and introduced on a phased basis over four years. The larger population centres will be the first to be covered.
The current PRI model review will consider introducing regulations for sectors “generating significant waste” with no successful voluntary initiatives, including construction and demolition projects over a certain threshold.
On the subject of waste recovery, the Government states that Ireland requires an adequate network of quality waste treatment facilities and that a review of recovery infrastructure will be completed by 31 December. The review will examine capacity for managing municipal waste “in conformity with the principles of proximity and self-sufficiency”.
While incineration is not mentioned, the strategy states that the landfill levy (€65 per tonne, to be increased to €75 from July 2013) will be kept under review “by reference to diversion rates and the Consumer Price Index” to ensure alternatives remain incentivised.
A team of waste enforcement officers is promised, to deal with serious criminal activity, in consultation with An Garda Síochána.
Launching the strategy, Minister Hogan criticised the recent treatment of customers by waste collection firms. He said: “It’s not acceptable for firms to ignore the genuine complaints of their customers and they will be held to account for their failures under the new system.”
In February, DKM Economic Consultants produced a report for the Irish Waste Management Association. It found that the household waste collection market was working well, providing choice and passing cost reductions on to consumers. It stated that the Government’s plan for competitive tendering entailed risks that costs will rise rather than fall.
Ireland: middle of the road management
A new European Commission report on waste management has put Ireland mid-table in a ranking of EU countries’ municipal waste management. Ireland ranked 15th out of 27, with 19 points out of a possible 42.
Ireland was only one point ahead of the Czech Republic and Poland, countries categorised as among those with the worst waste management practices. With landfill levels accounting for less than 5 per cent of waste, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany fared best.
Ireland’s biggest gaps included decoupling of waste from consumption, access to waste collection services, and the rate of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfills.
The country’s best features were in treatment capacity for municipal waste, the charge for municipal waste disposal in landfill and compliance of existing landfills for non-hazardous waste.
