Advance payment for skip bags proposed as incentive for collection

When the ubiquitous skip bag has outstayed its welcome, what is the solution for the poor neighbours who have to look at it lingering in the garden next door? As it currently stands, anyone who wants to use a skip bag pays for the bag at point of purchase - generally something like €10, and calls the waste collection company to come and collect it when full.

However, there is scarcely an estate, row of houses or settlement that hasn’t encountered a full bag sitting, waiting, for weeks or months on end. Cllr Noel McCarthy raised the issue at a council meeting earlier this week, and proposed that the collection fee be charged at the point of purchase, providing an incentive for the user to get ‘value for money’ and have their rubbish collected asap.

However, Louis Duffy, speaking on behalf of the Environmental section of Cork County Council, thought that this might make providers slower to collect the bags, having been paid in advance. This point Cllr McCarthy disagreed with, feeling that providers would collect as they do already.

A National Waste Management Plan is currently being prepared, and Mr Duffy advised that the matter would be better addressed in the context of that countrywide plan.

The council stated that, should litter be problematic, it can be addressed with the litter warden. They also pointed out that to hold waste for more than six months requires a permit.