Government has today confirmed that the introduction of pay-by-weight charges for waste, which were due to come into effect on July 1st, has been deferred for twelve months. The deferral follows agreement between the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and the Irish Waste Management Association, whose members are responsible for about three-quarters of waste collection nationwide.
Significantly for carers, in addition to the twelve month deferral of pay-by-weight charges, there was a commitment to disregard additional weight due to non-infant incontinence wear.
In a statement, the IWMA said its members have agreed to “provide a weight allowance to HSE patients supplied with incontinence wear to reduce their annual waste charges.” The statement continued: “IWMA members are committed to an arrangement whereby the additional weight attributed to non-infancy incontinence wear will be collected free of charge.”
It remains to be seen whether a similar commitment will follow from companies who are not members of the IWMA. As reported by RTE, non-members of the Association include some major service providers in Dublin such as Greyhound and City Bin.
You can check if your waste company is a member of IWMA here http://iwma.ie/about-us/list-of-iwma-members/
The commitment from the IWMA follows significant lobbying from Family Carers Ireland on this important issue and productive talks with representatives from the Dept. of Housing, Planning and Local Government and the IWMA.
