Drogheda Domestic Refuse services

positron

Hi!

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the recent changes with Panda waste services? Does the new electronic tag mean I have to sign up for the year, or can I still pay as and when I need to put the bin out? The letter from Panda is very ambiguous - there is no direct explanation of what the solution is - and the letter says the new service is €5.83 a week or €282 a year.

I usually put the black bin out every six - eight weeks, and the green bin may be once a month. I use the bring banks and vw recycling center for larger items / cloths etc too. The new scheme will work out expensive to me. Also, there is no real incentive to split out your paper and plastic, if its all going to cost me the same and will be collected every week.

Meanwhile, I can't get my head around the fact that same panda.ie charges just €72.80 for waste collection in Dublin, and the same service is €282.00 in Drogheda!!!

gipi

I moved to Drogheda over 3 years ago, and I use Allied Waste Services binbags - I'd used them where I'd lived previously. The bags aren't that easy to get, but Spar in Wheaton Hall sell them. They cost around €5 each, and are very reasonably priced for me - I put out a bag every 2-3 weeks. I also use the recycling centre every 6-8 weeks (luckily I've got a utility area to store the recyclables!).

The entire refuse collection system in Drogheda seems to be ....wait for it....a mess (groan!), with multiple providers all serving the same areas.

35notout

On a positive note though, Panda bins are free for the rest of the month!

After that I have no idea which way it works - as you said the letter is very ambigous. I think you can "top-up" the electronic tags online or something......

Zorba

Well the way i understood it was that u pay 282 quid a year for both bins and they collect them every second week where i am, as in black bin one week, green the next etc. I worked out i roughly spend 70 - 80 quid a year on both black and green bins so there's no way i'm gonna pay 282 quid ! Apparently it was a case of take it or leave it with Panda.

But because of local opposition they've backtracked and have said they're coming up with some new system, don't know what it is yet, but the free bins for a month still stands !

gipi

Which way do the Allied bin bags work? Like when are they collected and how big are they ?

And which way does VW Recycling centre work like if u bring up say bottles and papers how much does it cost to get rid of it and what other stuff do they take and do they charge ?

positron

Thanks Zobra, good to know they are rethinking the deal!

You can drive into VW recycling place with a car full of stuff and pay €2 at the automatic barrier / gate thing. Once there, they have plenty of parking space in front of clearly marked windows / bays for various type of waste (cardboard, plastic, bottles, magazines etc). If you have something that doesn't belong to any of them, say a mattress or a fridge or something, you can bring it to 'Other wastes' counter and they will take it there for a small additional fee.

Meanwhile, like gipi said, we also have utility area / garden shed to keep various bags to split out my recyclable refuse, and I wouldn't mind going that route for all recyclables - and from what I have seen, almost 75% of the refuse is recyclable anyway.

I wonder if there's a place where I can bring rest of the stuff (food, other organic stuff etc)? It would be nice to be able to totally avoid Panda and the likes.

Zorba

positron wrote: »

Thanks Zobra, good to know they are rethinking the deal!

Meanwhile, I quite like using the VW recycling centre - and like gipi, we have utility area / garden shed to keep various bags to split out my recyclable refuse, and I wouldn't mind going that route for all recyclables - and from what I have seen, almost 75% of the refuse is recyclables.

I wonder if there's a place where I can bring stuff that VW recycling center wouldn't take (food, other organic stuff etc)?

Could always buy a composter, half thinking of getting one myself but waiting to see what panda do.

Does VW charge to taking recyclable stuff ?

positron

I was editing my previous post while you posted the above.. apologies!

I tried composting, without much success to be honest. I wasn't careful enough on what was going into it, and now I have a lot of twigs and plastic ( ) that needs sorting out... Also its not very appealing on those soggy winter days...

Wertz

You lot should listen to LMFM some more...this has been done to death on their morning show the past week.

Basically panda now want to either charge you the traditional rip-off way with the "standing charge" type affair where you pay 280 quid for the year and have your bin lifted every week...given opposition to that they have come out with a compromise where you can alternatively pay about 90 quid per year and then pay about €8 per lifted bin PLUS a 22cent per KG of waste charge...given that the largest wheelie bin can take about 100KG of waste, that's a possible extra charge of €22, so maybe €30! I think realistically it would be about less than half that (open to correction here) so that would end up being about 18 quid for the black bin to be lifted. This secondary method would operate under a tag scheme...don't know if it's electronic/barcode driven or what.
The green bin is still "free"...no word of a brown bin in the area yet (you don't want one; trust me).

Zorba

Wertz wrote: »

You lot should listen to LMFM some more...this has been done to death on their morning show the past week.

Basically panda now want to either charge you the traditional rip-off way with the "standing charge" type affair where you pay 280 quid for the year and have your bin lifted every week...given opposition to that they have come out with a compromise where you can alternatively pay about 90 quid per year and then pay about €8 per lifted bin PLUS a 22cent per KG of waste charge...given that the largest wheelie bin can take about 100KG of waste, that's a possible extra charge of €22, so maybe €30! I think realistically it would be about less than half that (open to correction here) so that would end up being about 18 quid for the black bin to be lifted. This secondary method would operate under a tag scheme...don't know if it's electronic/barcode driven or what.
The green bin is still "free"...no word of a brown bin in the area yet (you don't want one; trust me).

According to the Drogheda Independant today you pay 90 - 98 quid per year under the new scheme. Then it's 7.50 just to lift the bin and 0.28 cents per kilo after that. They gave an example of the average bin weighs 20 kilos so it'd cost 13.10 quid to lift that bin. Dunno about anyone else but i reckon my bin weighs at least twice that everytime i put it out probably even more which would cost 18.7 quid. Apparently you'll be given some sort of electronic card type thing which you'll have to top up down your local shop.

Personally i think they can stick it up their Panda's arse ! I'm currently in the process of looking for alternative arrangments for my waste anyone with any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Wertz

Zorba wrote: »

Personally i think they can stick it up their Panda's arse

Just not Oxigen....they're the model that Panda is looking to copy.

TBH this is the way all these companies are going to have to go...the cost per tonne of landfill was raised by 25% last week (thank you Mr.Gormley), the cost of operating the service will rise due to fuel costs and this government seem unable to stem the flow of needless packaging or useless junkmail which is simply adding to each household's weekly waste output.
Again it is the little guy that ends up paying the price for the whim of big business...

All this is simply going to end up with more fly tipping and illegal waste operators.

Zorba

Wertz wrote: »

All this is simply going to end up with more fly tipping and illegal waste operators.

That's actually what i said to my dad today, wait till u see there'll be loads more rubbish dumped at the side of the road after all this. Hmmm thanks Mr Big Business and Mr Gormley.

And then i hear small businesses want to bring down the minimium wage to 7.50 per hr............:mad:

positron

Is there really no place in Drogheda region where I can bring domestic refuse (that would usually go into black bin)?

lucernarian

The recycling centre accepts ordinary rubbish bags for €6 per bag, or some price around that.

positron

Oh really? That's brilliant, I might take that route so, unless Panda lets me pay per lift and no annual charge / account!

Wertz

positron wrote: »

Is there really no place in Drogheda region where I can bring domestic refuse (that would usually go into black bin)?

You''ll be able to take it out to Carranstown in about 2 yrs and get them to burn it :pac:
The only landfill I ever remember in Drogheda was in the quarry on the cement rd and that closed years ago...oh and I think there was one on the Marsh rd after you go under the viaduct, but that too is closed.

Zorba

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

The recycling centre accepts ordinary rubbish bags for €6 per bag, or some price around that.

How big are the bags and where do u get them ?

gipi

Zorba wrote: »

gipi

Which way do the Allied bin bags work? Like when are they collected and how big are they ?

And which way does VW Recycling centre work like if u bring up say bottles and papers how much does it cost to get rid of it and what other stuff do they take and do they charge ?

Zorba, the recycling centre question has been answered by another poster. The Allied Waste Bags are like large black sacks (except they're red ) and are clearly marked as Allied Waste Bags. The max weight allowed is 20kg and Allied do a bin collection every Friday. I leave a bag out every 2-3 weeks. I'm not sure if they collect from everywhere in town - you could give them a shout on 046 9433366 to check.

I saw a company advertising bin bag and/or tag system in the Drogheda Leader this week -

....*runs off to find newspaper*.....

...*comes back to PC out of breath*...
Jumbo Wheel Bin Services, introducing bag + tag system, no annual fee! It's on page 12.

The ordinary waste service in the recycling centre is taken in a plain black binbag as far as I know - you pay €6 at the centre to dispose of the rubbish....+ €2 to get into the centre in the first place of course!

(no connection to any refuse services, by the way, other than a customer).

Zorba

gipi wrote: »

Zorba, the recycling centre question has been answered by another poster. The Allied Waste Bags are like large black sacks (except they're red ) and are clearly marked as Allied Waste Bags. The max weight allowed is 20kg and Allied do a bin collection every Friday. I leave a bag out every 2-3 weeks. I'm not sure if they collect from everywhere in town - you could give them a shout on 046 9433366 to check.

I saw a company advertising bin bag and/or tag system in the Drogheda Leader this week -

....*runs off to find newspaper*.....

...*comes back to PC out of breath*...
Jumbo Wheel Bin Services, introducing bag + tag system, no annual fee! It's on page 12.

The ordinary waste service in the recycling centre is taken in a plain black binbag as far as I know - you pay €6 at the centre to dispose of the rubbish....+ €2 to get into the centre in the first place of course!

(no connection to any refuse services, by the way, other than a customer).

Ok thanks very much for the info will look into the VW centre and the ad in the Leader......must have been half asleep when i read it cos i missed the ad on page 12

.....*runs off to get paper out of green bin !!*...........

KBarry

positron wrote: »

Is there really no place in Drogheda region where I can bring domestic refuse (that would usually go into black bin)?

(I'm assuming black bin is non-recycleable things)

I've started taking mine up to the landfill at Whiteriver. I forget the exact cost... about 4 euro per bag I think, with a minimum of 2 bags.

EIN

positron wrote: »

Hi!

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the recent changes with Panda waste services? Does the new electronic tag mean I have to sign up for the year, or can I still pay as and when I need to put the bin out? The letter from Panda is very ambiguous - there is no direct explanation of what the solution is - and the letter says the new service is €5.83 a week or €282 a year.

I usually put the black bin out every six - eight weeks, and the green bin may be once a month. I use the bring banks and vw recycling center for larger items / cloths etc too. The new scheme will work out expensive to me. Also, there is no real incentive to split out your paper and plastic, if its all going to cost me the same and will be collected every week.

Meanwhile, I can't get my head around the fact that same panda.ie charges just €72.80 for waste collection in Dublin, and the same service is €282.00 in Drogheda!!!

well feck them. i normally put my bin out only every 3 weeks. if i have to pay the 282 euro, then feck recycling, ill put everything in the black one!
and let them sort the rubbish themselves!

lucernarian

I can't remember exactly what size they mentioned for the €6 charge, but I believe it was a standard black refuse bag they were referring to. Those large rolls of black bags in supermarkets would be what they're talking about. One of those.

That place in Whiteriver is further away but it is cheaper at least. It wouldn't pay the petrol from Drogheda or Dundalk unless you brought at least four or five.

positron

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

That place in Whiteriver is further away but it is cheaper at least. It wouldn't pay the petrol from Drogheda or Dundalk unless you brought at least four or five.

I was thinking the same... if a few pool together and do runs once a week in rotation, wait a second - I see a gap in the market for running a good value refuse collection service...!!

To_be_confirmed

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

I can't remember exactly what size they mentioned for the €6 charge, but I believe it was a standard black refuse bag they were referring to. Those large rolls of black bags in supermarkets would be what they're talking about. One of those.

I imagine your standard bin would be at least the equivalent to two of those bags.

Doesn't really seem worth it... unless im getting confused.