International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

competition in the market, as in Ireland. 70 Dunne et al. assert that illegal dumping
has increased in recent years, although it must be noted that the rise could be
attributed to a number of factors including increased reporting of dumping, a rise in
awareness of the legislation, and the linked issue (to the one discussed here) of the
manner of implementation of pay-by-use. 71
Local governments have a legal responsibility to deal with waste arising in their
jurisdictions though the prevailing legislation does not require households to opt into
a service. The OECD notes that when the service is fully privatised (as it is in 67% of
the cases) local authorities do not have recorded evidence of the households who are
part of a waste collection scheme. 72
An additional issue in the Irish context is the application of the proximity principle.
This principle states that the most sustainable way to dispose of waste is using the
facilities closest to the area in which the waste has been generated. This has been
targeted as one of the causes for the lack of development of innovative waste
infrastructure in the country. A recent report for Repak notes that Ireland has suffered
due to the current state of infrastructure. 73 Ireland relies on other countries to
process the waste collected for recycling. The recent fall in prices of material to be
processed has affected the Irish market considerably and led to stockpiling of
recovered material. 74
The consultation paper on waste states that there is a trend toward market
consolidation for the service providers. Vertical and horizontal integration have led to
small firms being bought out by larger competitors. The OECD warns that vertical and
horizontal integration can effect competition and thus should be monitored by
competition authorities. 75 Indeed, experience suggests it is important for tenders to
attract an adequate number of bids in order to ensure bidders offer competitive
prices for the service being tendered.
In short, it is less than clear that competition in the market is leading to the provision
of an economically efficient and environmentally sound waste collection service in
Ireland.
70 DoEHLG (2006) Regulation of the Waste Management Sector: Consultation Paper,
http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/Environment/Waste/WasteManagement/FileDownLoad,1446,
en.pdf
71 L. Dunne, F. Convery and L. Gallagher (2008) An investigation into waste charges in Ireland, with
emphasis on public acceptability, Waste Management, pp 2826 – 2834.
72 OECD (2008) Ireland: Toward an Integrated Public Service, Paris: OECD, available at:
http://www.oecd.org/document/31/0,3343,en_2649_33735_40529119_1_1_1_1,00.html
73 Bacon and Associates (2008) Examination of Impact of Recent Price Collapse in Markets for
Recyclate Materials and Required Intervention, Report for Repak, available at:
http://www.repak.ie/files/Bacon%20Report%20on%20Waste%20Markets,%20Nov.%202008_1.pdf
74 It is important to understand the degree to which difficulties arising in marketing materials are
related to material quality (and are, therefore, potentially amenable to being addressed by collectors
and sorting facilities, or whether ‘infrastructure’ would help in this respect.
75 OECD (2000) Competition in Local Services: Solid Waste Management, DAFFE/CLP(2000)13.
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