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Rollingnews

'Consumers have little or no power': CCPC expresses concerns over unregulated Irish waste market

The average home now pays €230-€280 a year in waste collection charges.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has called for the regulation of Ireland’s waste collection market amid concerns over a lack of competition in the sector.

The recommendation was part of the group’s report into the waste collection market following a request by Minister for the Environment Denis Naughten.

The report looked at the household waste collection market from a competition, consumer protection and regulatory perspective and found that Ireland’s waste collection market was “extremely complex”.

Usually, competition brings benefits for householders and businesses, as consumers have a choice of services and can change provider if they want.

However, the report found that the Irish waste collection market exhibits the characteristics of “a natural monopoly”, in which just 15% of those with a choice of waste collection provider have ever switched.

It also found that the average home now pays €230-€280 a year in waste collection charges.

CCPC Chairperson Isolde Goggin said that State, commercial and consumer interests were continually overlapping and often in conflict with each other in the Irish market.

As a result, she said that Government policy needed to be reviewed and economic regulation should be introduced to make the market work better for everyone.

“In theory, side-by-side competition should allow for multiple suppliers and consumer choice,” Goggin said.

“However, in reality, the domestic waste collection market in Ireland is highly concentrated and becoming increasingly so.

“As a result consumers have little or no power to influence the behaviour of operators in this market.”

The CCPC report also recommended that the Government reviewed its policy document, “A Resource Opportunity: Waste Management Policy in Ireland”, while it also said the State should ensure its resources were co-ordinated to deliver better market outcomes.

Minister Denis Naughten welcomed the publication the report, saying it supported his abolition of flat rate fees, which took 19 years to be implemented.

“I welcome the fact that the CCPC does not call for a one size fits all type regulatory approach and that based on data collection and consultation, different competition models can be introduced for different geographic areas,” he said.

“For the waste collection market, its complexity requires a carefully planned approach to ensure price shocks are avoided and the household waste collection service continues to function.”

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    Mute Kevin Slater
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    Sep 28th 2018, 7:53 AM

    Councils farmed out waste collection to private contractors to create competition but really so they were no longer responsible or accountable. Now we’re told there’s no competition in the sector. Councils need to start all the environmental services again so they can be made accountable again. Privatisation does not work. Not water,waste, utilities, transport, health or education. We own this country try. Let’s take back ownership from greedy privateers.

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    Mute Good Early
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    Sep 28th 2018, 7:57 AM

    @Kevin Slater: Fianna Fail made decisions and all the lads now working for Irish Water who were city and county managers went along with it. Coincidence?

    189
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    Mute Genius 80s+
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:04 AM

    @Kevin Slater: farming out contracts in Ireland never works, it just creates cartels

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    Mute Dave Byrne
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:10 AM

    @Good Early: Plus they got a nice pay off before moving on to IW

    76
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    Mute Liam Neeson
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:12 AM

    @Good Early: The biggest creator’s of waste are supermarkets with all the excess packaging.

    43
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    Mute Mary Dunphy
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    Sep 28th 2018, 11:44 AM

    @Kevin Slater: Those of us who pay property tax should be able to submit details of their paid waste accounts to Revenue and have this amount deducted from their property tax payment annually. After all the Property Tax was supposed to pay for local services of which waste collection has always been one.

    28
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    Mute Noirin Kavanagh
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    Sep 29th 2018, 3:35 PM

    @Mary Dunphy: the property was only ever a tax to pay back the debt incurred in the crash. Anything else was just a smokescreen. The sooner we realise that essential services should be paid through taxation by an accountable government the better it will be for everyone.

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    Mute Kevin Slater
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    Sep 28th 2018, 7:56 AM

    We need to take back privatised utilities, water, health, education from greedy private companies. Public services cannot be trusted to private companies whose bottom line is profit and who seek the highest returns for the lowest investment. We own this country try. We need to take it back.

    216
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    Mute Sean Conway
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:29 AM

    @Kevin Slater: The labour party in britain are doing just that and more. i wonder what happened to our own labour party? oh yeah! they were taken over by the blueshirts.

    124
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    Mute Honeybee
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    Sep 28th 2018, 9:41 AM
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    Mute Dean Anderson
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:12 AM

    high waste charges might work in a country like Norway, Sweden or Germany where people have a sense of civic pride &keep their streets ,towns &villages looking immaculate but not here in the land of forty shades of green where the attitude is let someone else clean it up. in all the years I’ve been to Germany I’ve never seen the level of litter you see here. on new years eve a couple of years back in Berlin the bins were bursting &there was a lot of litter. by early morning it was all gone. every time Ive foreign friends over they’re left absolutely amazed by our litter strewn stretches of road

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    Mute Patrick J. O'Rourke
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:26 AM

    @Dean Anderson: well said. It’s not a sentiment that goes down well on here though but that cant change the reality that Ireland is seen as a dirty country and it shocks visitors. In the autumn the amount of rubbish at the sides of roads is revealed and shows the true nature of how people treat their environment. And then there’s flytipping. People drive from towns and cities to dump their rubbish in the countryside to save themselves a few euro. The national psyche seems to be that someone else will clear it up. Its disgusting.

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    Mute Charles Shelly
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:33 AM

    @Dean Anderson: Schooling is the only way

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    Mute GerryCummins
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:46 AM

    @Charles Shelly: yes the leather !

    12
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    Mute Mick Barnier
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:33 AM

    We nearly had our water handed on a plate to private operators.
    A Labour Party Minister did his best to make it happen.
    That he didn’t succeed is a testament to the people who saw the plan and cut it off.

    131
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    Mute Chris Hennessy
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:56 AM

    @Mick Barnier: Their water agenda hasn’t gone away ya know ;-)

    81
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    Mute Ronan Sexton
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:59 AM

    @Mick Barnier: criminal investigations need to occur into all politicians who had such a hard on to try and force this corrupt, fake company on us. Particularly, that sniveling half wit Alan Kelly, who had the biggest hooter of all for this corruption.

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    Mute Dave Doyle
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    Sep 28th 2018, 10:36 AM

    @Chris Hennessy: No it hasn’t, not by a long way. They, FFG have put all the pieces into place to privatise it and lay the blame on the EU.

    20
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    Mute Mari
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:27 AM

    Let the councils handle waste collection…it worked perfectly well in the past.. ireland is too small to hv public services privateized

    123
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    Mute Bart Teeling
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:32 AM

    Privatization will bring competition to bins and utilities they said.. tried to play the same BS with our water, never again..

    113
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    Mute Sean Conway
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    Sep 28th 2018, 7:59 AM

    The owners of the biggest waste collecters in dublin has an offshore acount. it was outsoured by the city manager. so keep the greed.

    144
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    Mute Sean Conway
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:01 AM

    @Sean Conway: sorry. so keep feeding the greed.

    57
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    Mute Dave Byrne
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:13 AM

    @Sean Conway: A Mr Teirney who was the city manager in Galway during the over spend of the revamp of Eyre square and the water issues the county had.

    73
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    Mute specialsue
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    Sep 28th 2018, 7:51 AM

    It’s getting ridiculous. I don’t even bother recycling anymore because it’s too much hassle.

    95
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    Mute Jay Coleman
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    Sep 28th 2018, 7:55 AM

    @specialsue: yeah because putting paper and plastic into a recycle bin is so hard. We criticized our parents for the crap that went on with the church. Years ahead our children will look at the state of the planet and criticize us for idly standing by while we polluted.

    102
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    Mute specialsue
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    Sep 28th 2018, 7:58 AM

    @Jay Coleman: Think I’ll buy an extra disposable cup of coffee today.

    36
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    Mute Slim Shady
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:23 AM

    @Jay Coleman: Not all plastic is recyclable but I put it all in for recycling anyway & the company can decide.

    38
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    Mute David Carino
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:31 AM

    @Jay Coleman: yes Jay because it the people’s fault and not the multinational company’s that persists in using packaging that’s non recyclable. They’re Ok and a great bunch of lads ! But the thick Joe Soaps sure pass the buck to them and make them pay for it .

    37
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    Mute astjan
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    Sep 28th 2018, 9:25 AM

    @David Carino: Yes. Blame everyone else. You’re right with the packaging but that shouldn’t stop you to try to do what YOU can do about this. Blaming producers for packaging doesn’t change anything. Trying to do your bit does.

    18
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    Mute Peter Hughes
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    Sep 28th 2018, 9:26 AM

    @specialsue: Its people like you that have this planet the way it is.

    10
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    Mute Mark McDermott
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    Sep 28th 2018, 10:30 AM

    @David Carino: “yes Jay because it the people’s fault and not the multinational company’s that persists in using packaging that’s non recyclable”

    Well then don’t buy it.

    6
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    Mute David Carino
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:34 AM

    Yes let’s get and pay another useless Regulator to do nothing

    60
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    Mute Dave Doyle
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    Sep 28th 2018, 10:39 AM

    FFG do not do regulation, it’s not the neoliberal way.

    23
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    Mute Gerry Caden
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    Sep 28th 2018, 10:09 AM

    THERE IS NO REAL CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THIS COUNTRY; UNLESS YOU WANT TO ” phone Joe” Duffy on RTE radio.
    I have personal experience of this. About three years ago , I emailed a complaint about misleading advertising by a well known English insurer with an Irish operation.
    When I could get no satisfaction from ” consumer protection ” body, I wrote to the Central Bank ,again outlining my concerns and explaining how I was getting nowhere with consumer protection body. The Central Bank too washed their hands of the issue referring me back to the useless body who had failed me.!! This is Consumer protection in Ireland.
    p.s. Some time later, the Insurers were obliged to return funds to clients , taken ” in error”.

    31
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    Mute Anthony Gallagher
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    Sep 28th 2018, 11:55 AM

    Deregulated financial capitalism, is slowly destroying our societies, its time we the people used our leverage.

    22
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    Mute GClare
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    Sep 28th 2018, 8:35 AM

    I know in 1 part of Italy at least they pay 500 euro a year for 4 collections a week, recycle, brown and black, done by the council, it’s brilliant; everyone must pay it’s is not done by lift, but that would not work here because people would refuse to pay (this is on top of water and all other rates)

    15
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    Mute Ronan Sexton
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    Sep 28th 2018, 9:01 AM

    @GClare: most people don’t mind paying for bins, because you only pay once. You seem unable to distinguish between paying for something once or multiple times.

    40
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    Mute Peter Hughes
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    Sep 28th 2018, 9:29 AM

    @Ronan Sexton: It was paid by our taxes, taxes we still pay but now we also get charged by private companies for something that we already paid for in tax…..you could not make it up, its FF at its finest how anyone votes for them makes me question us mentally.

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    Mute GClare
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    Sep 28th 2018, 12:56 PM

    @Ronan Sexton: people object to paying full stop. The problem with fly tipping etc is caused because people don’t want to pay for their bins, the council stopped collecting it because no one was paying. People constantly complain about how we pay the highest prices in Europe for everything, newsflash we don’t

    2
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    Mute ed w
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    Sep 28th 2018, 12:07 PM

    You actually have no options at all in a lot of cases bring centres charge crazy high prices for disposal. And charge for things like cardboard etc. Only collect paint tins twice a year and don’t advertise the dates.
    Charge loads for getting rid of old furniture not suprised there’s a dumping epidemic.
    No services at all in this country

    16
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    Mute mursim
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    Sep 28th 2018, 9:48 AM

    Yet again the free market fails.
    The blueshirts really are useless.

    33
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    Mute Jane Alford
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    Sep 28th 2018, 11:29 AM

    That’s cheap… The biggest problem is there’s no competition. Usually only a single company operating in an area. Managing your own waste and using tips is much too expensive as the charges are usually astronomical.

    9
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