Minister Simon Coveney appears to have bowed to pressure and is set to remove the minimum charge for recycling waste.
From July, all households will have to pay a fixed charge for their waste removal, and a minimum price per kilo for each of their three bins.
About 20 percent of households currently pay by weight.
Green bins were to be priced at 2 cent a kilo, compared to 6 cent for food waste in brown bins and 11 cent for black bins, or general waste, but there will now be no minimum charge for recyclables.
The Green Party and People Before Profit say they're delighted at the U-turn, and that charging for recycling would have been a regressive move.
Juliette Gash reports;
Speaking following the news, Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan, TD for Dublin Bay South, said: “We absolutely welcome the news that the minimum charges on recycling collection will not now go ahead. I’m glad that the new Government have recognised that introducing these charges would have been a retrograde step, and penalised householders for disposing of waste responsibly."
“It was a short sighted move, and the public outcry against the charges shows the level of support for recycling initiatives. It’s now up to the waste management companies to ensure that recycling stays free to the public."
