Calls for waste management to go under public ownership

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reported that Ireland will miss mandatory EU recycling targets.

In light of this, People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has called for waste collection and management to be taken back into public ownership.

Murphy said the policy of waste privatisation introduced in the early 2000s has been a “disaster” from an environmental and a cost of living perspective.

“Households are shelling out upwards of €300 on waste management fees to private companies that are not even recycling the waste properly,” he claimed.

“A tracker placed on green recycling waste by a Dublin householder recycling found it was going for incineration not recycling. 1 in 3 households still have no brown bin despite this being an EU requirement. Today’s EPA statistics show that only 41% of municipal waste is being recycled – far below the EU target of 55%.”

“When I questioned Eamon Ryan about this recently, he tried to pass the buck to local councils and private waste management companies. He claimed he has no legal responsibility for waste despite being the Minister for the Environment. Incredibly, he also said that local councils are not interested in taking waste collection back into public ownership. This is despite years of efforts by Dublin City Council to re-municipalise waste management.”

“I call on the Minister now to begin the process of taking waste collection back into public ownership so that it can be provided free of charge to all households as a universal public service and also to legislate to force companies to reduce the amount of packaging they put on their products.”

Fellow opposition Southside politician Rebecca Moynihan said that “immediate action” is needed in light of the report.

The Labour Senator said the statistics indicate a “worrying trend”, and highlighted an “urgent need for a significant overhaul in waste management practices”

While not calling for waste management to fall back under public ownership, Moynihan called for the remunicipalisation of waste services in Ireland.

“The failure to meet EU recycling targets is deeply concerning and reflective of the inadequate waste management practices in Ireland,” she said.

“The current system has proven ineffective, with recycling rates stubbornly stagnant. It’s time for increased efforts and immediate government intervention.”

“We must emphasise that there is a free green bin for citizens to encourage recycling habits,” and said the change in recycler behaviour must be accompanied by “substantial government investment in the circular economy, fostering innovative solutions and sustainable practices.”

“We urge Government to empower our local authorities to step forward and reclaim responsibility for bin collection. Remunicipalisation of waste services will allow for greater control and accountability, leading to more efficient and environmentally responsible practices,” she said.