It's an old bit of controversy at this stage but I can’t help feeling people in Ballyfermot are getting the short end of the stick here so I just have to my rant about it. I don't mind paying for to have my share of the waste collected if it’s a fair price but for a while there it was costing me about €30 per bin lift when another fella in Blanchardstown was only paying €8. I know another woman in Clondalkin pays only €4 for a smaller bin.
How is it €30 per bin you might ask? Well I was a working man living alone so it took me about 3 months to fill a wheely bin so I’d only put out 4 bins in a year @ about €5 per lift but then there’s the standing charge of €100 per year for the service which I’m clearly not using and that brings the year total to about €120 which gives us €30 per bin.
I did talk to Dublin County Council about this and they told me it works out cheaper for a family that fills the bin every week (about €7). I said well that’s great for them isn’t it? Why don’t you have Dublin Bus send me a flat rate €100 bill for buses I don’t use too, might as well give the tip to the Taxis too. And I’m sure the library can get stuck in to me too.
He enquired about what I do with my rubbish so I explained I don’t have any at home. I did find the question a little intrusive to be honest. I eat at work or out on the move and much of the rest can go to the green bin. So he said I could apply to have the bin removed. So this is what my options boil down an Over Charged Service or No Service at all.
I’ve decided the best I can do for the moment is not allow them to lift the bin and opt to throw the black sack into the lorry myself. This at least brings the cost down to €25 per lift instead of €30.
But really where do they get the audacity to simply impose these bills on people? “We’ll send them a bill that we’ve just invented and they’ll pay it or we’ll take them to court because we are the almighty County Council” or what?
Do you think it's fair?
