Bord na Mona Recycling price hikes kick in as rural customers wait on brown bins

Bord na Mona Recycling is advising customers in Meath who don't have compost bins, but want to use them, to contact the company, as they increase charges on their bin collection service this week.

Many rural householders have expressed anger that they have to pay a fee for excess weight charges, as they cannot reduce the waste they send to landfill or incineration, because they don't have compost bins.

The charge was introduced to encourage people to reduce general waste by recycling and composting.

A spokesperson for the company said this week that customers, who want a compost bin, should contact them and they will be supplied with a compost of brown bin.

Bord na Mona recently wrote to their customers advising them that from 1st July there will be an additional €0.97 per month added to their bill along with a charge of 30c per excess kilo for bins exceeding the quarterly weight limit for the waste bin.

The quarterly limit for a 240L bin is 195 kg and for a 140L bin is 105 kg.

The company advised customers to "segregate your waste and use your recycling and organic bins more to reduce your waste weight."

In March 2024 Bord na Mona said they were progressing plans for the national roll-out of brown bins across all counties where they offer recycling services and expected "to be operational by the end of the summer (2024)."

One woman who was angered by the situation said: “The levy is being charged on the tonnage of general waste, the waste that goes to landfill or incineration. Compost waste is the heaviest of all, so we have no chance of reducing the weight because we haven't got compost bins.

“It is not just the additional cost, but the principle of it. We have no way of reducing our waste. As a customer who does not have these bins provided, why should I have to pay this levy,” she added.

In a statement last March a spokesperson for Bord na Móna Recycling said; "Bord na Móna Recycling provides recycling and waste management services to various households across the country. In accordance with the recent amendment of The European Union Household Food Waste and Bio-waste regulations all of our recycling customers will have access to brown bins for organic waste disposal this year."

A spokesperson for Bord na Mona said they had reached out to their customers in Meath advising them the brown bin service is available.