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Wasteful neighbours may cost you money
Saturday, 18 April 2009
Northern Ireland’s ratepayers could face huge daily EU fines from next year — if we don’t get to grips with our waste problem.
Green campaigners have warned that we are unlikely to meet EU recycling targets set for 2010, and eco-friendly ratepayers may end up footing the bill for neighbours who can’t be bothered to recycle.
Friends of the Earth warn that Northern Ireland is unlikely to meet the next EU target of diverting 25% of waste at 1995 levels from landfill by 2010 and fines could be passed down to local |authorities and the ratepayer.
Waste campaigner Declan Allison said: “You might be recycling everything you can, but if your neighbours are not, you are actively paying for the sins of your neighbours. The councils could look at targeting particular individuals, but that would be an administrative nightmare.”
The most recent recycling figures reveal that Antrim and Banbridge Councils are ahead of the race when it comes to waste, recycling 48.73% and 45.70% of household waste respectively — but Belfast and Strabane councils have been forced to take stringent enforcement measures to counter their poor recycling rates of 23.24% and 23% respectively.
Belfast was the first council to impose fines on households for excess waste, while Strabane has adopted a policy of inspecting black bins to check householders are separating their waste.
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Any packaging that can be recycled, should be allocated a number/colour code.
This could then correspond to a bin that it is then disposed in.
Any packaging that is not classed this way should have some form of tax implemented in order to make companies move towards easily recycled packaging.
Posted by Richard Stewart | 19.04.09, 18:26 GMT
We have known about the recycling targets for a long time but the fools on the hill and thier inert civil service have done little to empower councils and prepare adequately. If we are at fault, then someone should pay but perhaps it is the politicians who should be personally surcharged, it seems they want the posts but take little responsibility; the fault lies wuith them. Bill them, or sack them!
Posted by Malachy Mulligan | 19.04.09, 15:00 GMT
We are becoming a nation of fascists. Turning neighbour against neighbour because of the wrong type of rubbish in a bin is a joke. Most people are tired of listening to this scaremongering nonsense from people like Friends of the Earth anyway.
Our councils should simply refuse to pay the fines - just like the French do when the European Community tries to fine them.
Posted by Global Warming Sceptic | 19.04.09, 13:07 GMT
Save the environment by putting an end to all this Recycling nonsense. The DOE Waste Management will not or cannot produce information on the quantitative dynamics of waste movement, nor can they produce a picture showing containment capacity. We are being made fools of by well paid environmental hacks, who send our recycled waste back into land fill, or else send it on exotic holidays. It is costing more to undo the environmental damage of illegal tipping -much of it in the South Armagh Area. The Assembly must institute a Derogation until they have got their act together.
Posted by Malachy McAnespie | 18.04.09, 19:02 GMT
One needs to examine the reasons for having so much waste;most items are enclosed by excess packaging. The reasons for this are multifaceted,including anti-theft,larger boxes to mislead the buyer,and advertising,and several more. In the past a household of four had their bin collected once a week and it was seldom full. Now it takes three bins to hold all the socalled waste. The problem needs to be tackled,but like so many issues those in power find it easier to treat the symptoms rather than fix the problem! Besides of all the above the EU appears to have little to do but come up with new and many times meaningless rules. I do believe in recycling,and do..
Posted by RMS | 18.04.09, 16:07 GMT