A local councillor has spoken out against criticisms made about private waste collectors in Tipperary.
At this month’s meeting of Tipperary County Council, Councillor Jim Ryan challenged comments made against the waste management services across the Premier.
During a detailed discussion on the new waste management plan for Tipperary, claims were made that these private collectors were making huge profits and hiking prices up, and it was described as “out of control.”
It was suggested that a waste regulator be brought in to reel in these alleged claims.
Cllr Ryan says he feels this is unfair given the work they do.
“They provide hundreds of local jobs in Tipperary; they pay huge amounts of income tax and corporation tax to the Exchequer every year; they pay huge commercial rates to Tipperary County Council each year; and they sponsor an awful lot of groups out there, sports clubs, voluntary organisations, and charities. They work very unsocial hours: bank holidays, early mornings, late nights; over Christmas, during the COVID lockdown, they were out every day collecting people’s rubbish. I think they’re being unfairly criticised. They’re a business; they need to make a profit. To paint them as the bad boys of the waste industry, it’s a bit unfair on them.”
The independent councillor says that private waste collectors get criticised every time waste collection is a topic of discussion at meetings and was quick to remind that someone had to fill the gap in the market when the council stopped collecting waste.
“What people need to realise is that the county council was collecting the waste for years, and they operated at a loss. It was taking huge amounts of money away from valuable services within the county. They left the game, and, obviously, there was a gap in the market, and private operators had to come in; somebody has to collect your waste. It’s a highly regulated industry; there are a lot of rules, regulations, and laws there both nationally and through the EU. Without these private operators, we would have a huge problem in the county. I felt the words that were used tell me that a number of councillors are attacking the private operators, and I think that’s very unfair.”
