Seventy eight per cent of households in Mayo use refuse collection services, leaving 22 per cent unaccounted for. This figure, which related to the latest statistics of 2009, was revealed by Michael Joyce, senior engineer with Connaught Waste Management.
During his presentation to the Environmental Policy and Agricultural SPC which took place on Wednesday, Mr Joyce was asked why one in five houses do not use bin collection services.
Mr Joyce explained that this could be down to the fact that some remote areas are not serviced by a collection, or that people cannot afford or do not want collection. Mr Joyce, however, said that many might take their waste to recycling centres.
As for the price of bin collection services being an issue, Mr Joyce said that the price of kerbside collection has in fact dropped in the past few years, with the average price for a three bin collection in Mayo now being €260 in comparison to €400 five years ago.
To ensure that people are not illegally disposing of their waste, enforcement officers with Mayo County Council have continued their spot checks on houses, with between 400 and 600 houses spot-checked in 2009.
As for recycling centres in the county, it was pointed out that certain areas in Mayo do not have recycling areas — Claremorris, Bangor, Belmullet and Achill were identified, however the meeting heard that planning permission for a site in Belmullet has been granted and that a site in Claremorris has been identified.
