Trouble in China lands on our own doorsteps with higher charges

IT is unfortunate that Panda has become the first – but probably not the last – firm to charge for collection of green bin or recycling waste. It was only a matter of time before households were forced to pay more to dispose of their paper, plastics and tin cans.

The world’s biggest reprocessing market, China, has essentially stopped taking recyclables, in part because so much exported there was contaminated and of poor quality.

Being unable to ship waste abroad for processing means bin companies will have to utilise facilities closer to home.

The Government is powerless to act, as the waste market is almost entirely privatised, with only a handful of local authorities operating a service.

There are no rules around price-setting, and attempts by the Government to impose a minimum price for each waste stream were met with opposition before being scrapped. That’s despite the fact that they would have encouraged recycling – as green bin waste would be cheapest.

Instead, flat-rate tariffs were banned, and a price monitoring group established by Environment Minister Denis Naughten to ensure that operators did not take the opportunity to hike prices.

Its most recent report, from February 28, suggests prices have remained broadly stable, albeit with increases for some customers.

Today, we learn that Panda will be among those hiking prices. While it says the annual cost per customer will be €21, that is hardly the point. It’s another increase, and for many will only copper-fasten their belief that the industry is out to gouge customers.

In its defence, many would suggest that given the cost of disposing of waste, the fees charged represent good value for money.

We are good at recycling, and have largely met – or are on track to meet – our EU targets. But recycling rates have remained largely static since 2012, and more onerous targets are on the way.

The only way to reduce bills is to reduce the amount of waste generated.

As consumers, we should now demand that supermarkets stop wrapping fruit and vegetables in cardboard and plastic.

After all, it’s us who foot the bill to dispose of this unnecessary packaging.