CUSTOMERS OF GREYHOUND Recycling in Dublin are to be charged for recycling household rubbish in bags from tomorrow.

Up until now, there had been no charge for recycling waste in an effort to encourage customers to recycle as much as possible.

In a letter delivered to customers today, the company said customers will have to buy Greyhound-branded recycling bags from retailers at a cost of €9 for six bags.

Greyhound blamed “the high cost of distribution” of recycling bags and “the sharp fall in the market value of recyclables” for the introduction of the charge.

The letter indicates that the charge will only affect customers who use recycling bags and not those who use green bins.

Greyhound is one of a number of private companies which took over the waste collection for parts of Dublin after the local authorities withdrew from providing the service and sold it on.

PJ Rudden, the author of many regional waste plans for parts of the country, said that the charge was a ‘retrograde step’ which could lead to less recycling.

“Our high recycling rates have been built on the success of the three-bin system of source-separated waste, incentivised by a free green bin and payment for the black bin residual waste,” said Rudden. “To move away from this incentive to recycle more and landfill less is a retrograde step”.

Several private wastecompanies – including Greyhound – increased general waste charges by more than 10 per cent earlier this year.

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