When the bin tax was introduced by Local Authorities in Dublin and Limerick around 2002, The Socialist Party warned that, if allowed to be implemented, the price would rapidly increase and there would also be a move toward privatisation of the household waste collection service. Unfortunately on both counts we are being proved correct.

Waste collection charges have risen substantially.  In parts of Dublin private operators have opportunistically used this to move in and take householders away from the local Council collection service. The collection service has been completely privatised in Limerick.

Now the four local authorities in the Dublin region, accounting for about one third of the population of the State, are making proposals which would further prepare the ground for the wholesale privatisation of the waste service. They are proposing to change the Waste Plan for the Dublin Region 2005-2010 to give themselves the right to invite "competitive tendering" from private companies for the collection of waste.

They are also extending the power to charge for recycling and composting. The following paragraph is proposed;"Therefore householders are obliged to pay not just for the cost of collection and disposal of waste in their Grey Bins, but for other services that are provided or arranged for by the Local Authority in respect of waste presented in Green Bins (and Brown Bins from 2006) along with waste presented to Recycling Centres and Bring Banks."

Quite clearly the ground is being prepared here for a wide-ranging attack on the pockets of working people. Any move toward privatisation should be strongly resisted. Community groups and individuals can make submissions up to 18 November 2007 by email to engineering@dublincity.ie or by letter to The Manager, Environment Department, Dublin City Council, Dublin 8.

Coincidentally the reintroduction of water charges for householders is also being raised by the employers' organization, IBEC. Naturally, if they were successful in this they would follow up with pressure for the privatisation of any profitable parts of the water supply service.

A major campaign of opposition to water charges which saw tens of thousands of householders refusing to pay, forced the Fine Gael/Labour Government to abolish them in December 1996. Both business and the government should be under no illusion. Any attempt to bring back the hated water charges would reignite a huge movement of opposition in the form of a mass boycott of the charge.