Cost identified as main reason for low uptake of brown bins

Cost is the main reason for the low uptake of brown bins in Westmeath, judging by a survey carried out in Rochfortbridge. On foot of the findings, Westmeath County Council has vowed to cut the costs and look at a cheaper charge by weight system.

This county has one of the lowest uptakes of food waste bins in the country, lagging behind even neighbours Offaly and Longford, where there is a 23pc uptake, compared to 18pc here.

Some 36pc, or 81 of the 227, households surveyed in Rochfortbridge said cost was a deterrent; 32pc, or 72, said they weren’t offered brown bins by their waste collection suppliers; and 11pc said they weren’t bothered, while a small minority, 2pc, were worried about the smell from a brown bin.

Some householders said they do not have much food waste because there is only one person living in the house or they are good at managing their food waste.

John Jackson, environment awareness officer, told a Strategic Policy Committee meeting on Friday week last that the feedback they have is that some waste collectors are quoting on average €25 for a brown bin collection. "We need to look for charges to be in line with other areas. In a lot of other areas you are charged by weight, so the less waste you generate the less it is going to cost you," he said.

Mr Jackson said the council needs to discuss with service providers a move away from the fixed charge business model and to get them to deliver brown bins to all households in Rochfortbridge. While 72 householders claimed they had not been offered brown bins, some service providers say they are not being asked for them. Mr Jackson said the council had to get brown bins rolled out and build public awareness of the need for waste food management.

"The solution for us is we need to get our waste collectors to deliver brown bins to all householders in Rochfortbridge, if possible," Mr Jackson said. He said that the report produced encouraging signs of an uplift in the number of people who are willing to contact their waste suppliers to look for bins.

The council is determined to examine the possibility of making the service cheaper and more enticing with a charge by weight policy.

Mr Jackson also found it encouraging that only 11pc, a "relatively low figure", were not "actually bothered" and he suggested that the 2pc that were worried about the smell from a brown bin could rest assured that this would not be a problem if the bin was managed properly.

Rochfortbridge was selected for the survey because it has a good cross-section of traditional households that have been there for decades as well as an influx of newer residents who commute to Dublin and other areas to work. More than 500 households were invited to participate, but only 227 did so. All those that did received seven-litre kitchen caddies, complements of the council.

"The challenge for us was to try to encourage householders in that area to request and use the brown bin," Mr Jackson said. He said the reaction in Rochfortbridge was "very positive". He pointed out that the council is obliged to provide brown bins in all communities of more than 500 households.

Mr Jackson said that overall, the report captured a lot of information that will be useful to the environment section and help shape how they interact with waste collectors, promote food waste collections and get the public on board as "we really need to increase this within the county".

The chairman of the SPC, Cllr Frank McDermott, welcomed the report. He asked what the general run of charges was in other places, saying that €25 would run into €450 a year: "it’s a good little bit of money". He asked if charging by weight would make a difference.

Mr Jackson said it would and that you would not expect to be paying €25 if you were paying by weight. Also, paying by weight would make users more conscious of the need to better manage their food waste. He said that the council would be looking at other local authorities that have been successful in this area to see how they implement and operate charges. "So, that is the next step for us and we will be doing that early in 2022," he assured the meeting.