COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF LUCAN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

MOTION NO. 4

MOTION: Councillor D. O'Brien

"That this Committee agrees that the Council should again consider the provision of a green waste facility in Lucan whether directly provided by the Council or in conjunction with a local community or environmental project."

REPORT:

The viability of the Esker Green Waste Facility was considered as part of the Council's Budget process in 2010. It was at that time considered to have no financially viable future unless the charge per visit was raised to in excess of €44 to ensure consistency with the Polluter Pays principle.  The facility was subsequently closed for this reason and also due to the fact that the provision of brown bins to all households in the County had commenced and was due to be completed by June 2010, and this removed the need to keep the green waste facility open. 

Since the closure of the Green Waste Facility a brown bin service providing a door to door collection service for green and organic waste is now available to all householders from commercial waste providers operating in the county.  The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government signed the EU Household Food Waste and Bio Waste Regulations 2013 into law in this state in April 2013, and these require that all service providers in the waste collection area provide a brown bin collection as part of the service that they provide.

Members of the public can also dispose of green waste material at the Ballymount Civic Amenity if they wish, or alternatively can provide their own home composting facilities where they have access to a garden. The wide availability of a door to door brown bin service in the County combined with the options of home composting or use of the civic amenity for recycling/disposal of this type of waste give rise to a situation where there is no longer any need to provide a green waste reception centre in this County.  If this facility were to re-open it would give rise to substantial additional costs to the Council which would be both unnecessary and avoidable.