Structure of the Household Waste Collection Market

Ireland is unique among European Union Member States in that our waste collection system is run, almost entirely, by private operators on a side by side competitive basis. While, with the exception of one or two municipal districts, local authorities have all but exited the household waste collection market, the sector still has obligations in relation to collecting household waste. These are set out in the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended and, in summary, provide that: each local authority shall collect, or arrange for the collection of, household waste within its functional area.

The obligation to collect or arrange for the collection of household waste shall not apply if; an adequate waste collection service is available in the local authority's functional area, the estimated costs of the collection of the waste would, in the opinion of the local authority, be unreasonably high, or the local authority is satisfied that adequate arrangements for the disposal of the waste concerned can reasonably be made by the holder of the waste.

We believe that the current market structure works well and there are no proposals to change this structure at this time. The Waste Advisory Group, formed to advise us in drafting the recently published Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy, considered the structure of the market in Ireland and did not recommend any change in the current market structure, instead recommending a strengthening of consumer protection in the market. The Plan also acknowledged that the professionalization of the waste sector in Ireland over recent decades has been a key factor in driving overall performance. The Waste Advisory Group will continue to have a roll in the implementation of the Plan and given this ongoing role of the Waste Advisory Group, we do not view the establishment of a separate stakeholder forum on domestic waste collection as being necessary. While it is always open to each local authority to re-enter the market on a commercial basis if they wish, we are not aware of any such plans.

A comprehensive Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) from 2012 considered options regarding the organisation of the household waste collection market.

The RIA recognised that there were some advantages to the ‘franchise bidding’ approach (also known as competition for the market) which scored marginally higher than strengthening the regulatory regime and keeping the existing ‘side by side’ competitive market structure (competition in the market). However, given the critical nature of the waste collection service, the risks associated with moving to ‘franchise bidding’ were judged to deem this option ultimately less desirable.