Panda compost/brown bin

Mav11

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120498752#Comment_120498752

Those are not the only DLR charges. Some (including myself) have been notified of new charges as per post #16, some have been notified as per post #57, some have not received any notification.

It seems to me that they are analysing a households previous usage patterns and designing a new charging structure for that household to get the most revenue.

greasepalm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120498372#Comment_120498372

Yes bought one many years and had a sink and insink waste disposal added and had a tap nearby where i fitted to hose to run it. . My only issue later thinking the drain might be partialy collapsed as it would block up when it overflowed.

Was great for chicken wings and other stuff.

babelfish1990

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120498539#Comment_120498539

Thanks for sharing. Great discussion dispelling a lot of the myths about the supposed negative issues with with macerators. As I suspected there is no reference to any legislation banning them. Used properly they are significantly better than allowing food waste down the sink without maceration.

Tarabuses

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120499000#Comment_120499000

The charges in post #16 appear to be the monthly option whereas post #57 shows the pay as you go cost.

Larbre34

Personally I think 'garbage disposals' of any sort should be banned. They inevitably add to the presence of fats and undigestible waste in the waste water network, which is already under enough pressure from decades of under investment and from the rank stupidity of our fellow citizens putting plastic made wipes and sanitary pads and even nappies into the toilet, as well as cooking fats down the drains.

There are only three ways to dispose of waste responsibly at the moment

1) general waste disposal for incineration of non-compostable and non-recyclables

2) State approved recycling from kerbside or civic amenity of recyclable materials

3) Composting of appropriate organic waste on-site, off-site by licenced contractor, or at civic amenity site.

Any other method is not appropriate and sink garbage disposal is no better than barrel burning in the back yard environmentally speaking.

I'd also be concerned that these additional charges will contribute to the already disgraceful epidemic of fly-tipping. And while I understand that the principle of polluter pays is necessary to minimise overall waste, I think the Government must look at subsidising household waste charges to mitigate the environmental impact of the cost of living crisis, where some people will have to prioritise food and energy over lower ranked bills like bins.

Furze99

Never seen a brown or compost bin around here. Just rubbish and recycling.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120499024#Comment_120499024

The real question would be whether they are better than putting food waste in the brown bin.

Mav11

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120499425#Comment_120499425

I wouldn't think so. Post #16 below for reference.

I would be a light user so it seems that they are trying to change me to a flat charge of €210 pa. There is no way that I would generate 105kg of general waste per quarter and they know that. Plus unlimited (with no lift charges) on Recycling and compost.

It seems to fly in the face of waste reduction. I'll have to try very hard to hit my allowances☺️

Quarterly Service Charge         €52.50 

Quarterly General Waste Allowance 105Kg 

General Waste Excess per Kg     €0.30 

Recycling Allowance             Unlimited 

Compost Allowance             Unlimited 

L1011

Panda's claims of the processing being expensive seems to not be aware of two things which make the brown bin waste much more valuable. Peat moss going off sale, and biogas becoming common.

Peat moss compost is going to be banned over time (next year in the UK); meaning substitutes need to be used - domestic brown bin compost is a common enough substitute, albeit it does have quite different properties.

Biogas is already here - there have been sporadic injections to the gas grid here; but on a more regular basis - if you go buy Calor gas for a gas grill or patio heater this year, its probably biogas. A lot of this is made from rotting food. The residue still has some uses too.

tvjunki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120495999#Comment_120495999

Update. Got a call from their complaints team apologising but their is nothing they can do. I said you are making a fortune you have full market share in the area and it is not acceptable. He said due to our bills not being large he could not offer a better deal. If we put the black bin out more then they could offer another deal but not at the minute. I said if that is the case where is the incentive to recycle and reduce waste! He just kept saying I agree with you.. but could do nothing.

He asked the sales team to send over offers and one was pay per weight and lift and the other. See below.

Pricing 2022

Annual charge €90.00

waste per lift €4.35 waste per kilo €0.31

recycling per lift €1.30 Recycling per kilo €0.065

compost per lift €3.08 Compost per kilo €0.188

or essential plan

non dd quarterly dd monthly

€55.50 €18.50

126g 42kg

€0.28 €0.28

9161 9160

I think I need to be more forceful on the phone. Thanks for the heads up.

Mav11

Update: I finally got through to them yesterday. Basically they told me that because I am a light user, the price was doubling. I cancelled the contract and am waiting for a call from the refund dept to get my payment back. I reckon that'll be fun!

I couldn't accept that sort of price gouging.

tvjunki

You wonder what the service charge for?

I know some neighbours are sharing the bin service which might be an option for some. That would work out cheaper.

Dr_Colossus

Have sent of a complaint now also and questioned the origin of the €3.80 lift charge. If it was akin to the recycling charge of €0.80 I might accept it as a means of discouraging half empty bins been left out for collection but ideally it should be less given it's only 120 litres vs the 240 litres of the recycling bin. Have also questioned the purpose of the service charge given each bin will now have its own separate lift charge so if I don't receive a satisfactory response I will be cancelling my long standing account. I'm also a light user and the introduction of the brown bin charge increases our yearly total significantly as it's the one bin we would put out nearly every fortnight.

People need to object and pull their business if at all possible or the price gouging will continue.

the_amazing_raisin

Going slightly off topic, does anyone know if Panda offer a level pay service for bin charges, similar to level pay for electricity?

I'm fairly predictable with bin collections and it'd be more convenient for me than the direct debit every 2 months

I'm in Fingal btw, since their charges seem to vary by area

DownByTheGarden

A lot of people on the radio yesterday saying they are going to flush waste food down the toilet. One person even saying the grass is going down the toilet from now on

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120519635#Comment_120519635

They'll just be making Dyno rod rich instead of Panda 😂

I could see rubbish burners becoming popular again, really looking forward to that asthma attack 😬

All this does make you wonder exactly what the point of it is beyond a money grab

There's a balance to be struck with bin charges, if you charge too much or target the wrong thing then it just increases illegal dumping

And this whole "market" approach just doesn't work, results in cartel like behaviour and is bad for the environment overall

IMO if Panda were really concerned about the environment they'd be introducing a charge for plastic waste and advocating for the ban of single use plastics and unrecyclable packaging like polystyrene

So I agree this is just a money grab. I'll be cutting down the number of times I cut the grass and bringing it to the recycling centre. If I'm gonna pay someone then I'd rather pay the county council than some cartel bin company

SuperBowserWorld

Wondering why is not ok to burn garden "waste" wood/hedge trimmings ... outside but you can in the fireplace / woodstove inside ...

the_amazing_raisin

What do people reckon the chances are that Greyhound will increase prices?

Seriously considering switching to them to save a few sheckles and also I like the idea of a fixed monthly payment

However I wonder if they're holding off increasing rates until a bunch of people have switched from Panda

Tarabuses

Looking at the Greyhound website (which unlike Panda does give their charges) they look to be dearer than Panda. Aren't they both under the one ownership?

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120520767#Comment_120520767

It depends on your usage IMO

Doing some calculations for Panda:

Black bin every 3 weeks = 17*€10.25 = €174.25

Brown bin once a month = 12*€3.80 = €45.60

Green bin every 2 weeks = €26 (mine averages €1 per lift)

Annual service charge = €125

TOTAL: €370.85

If you're getting the black bin lifted every 2 weeks it goes up to €460.10

Greyhound by contrast charge €26.50 per month for the Family plan which looks like it'd suit me. That's €318 per year unless I'm missing something

The deal breaker might be if you exceed the weight limit on the black bin for the month. You can look up your lift weights on MyPanda and it looks like I should generally be in the limit

I also like the idea of having a set monthly payment instead of a variable amount every two months. I know it isn't for everyone but it suits me more

EDIT: Regarding ownership, I haven't found anything definitive that indicates Panda and Greyhound are owned by the same company

There were articles a few years ago about a merger but I can't find anything that says it went ahead

Panda is owned by Beauparc Utilities which is owned by Macquarie asset management. It also owns Green Star waste

Greyhound is owned and administered by the Buckley family as far as I can tell

Tarabuses

Panda have a family plan for €18.50 a month up to 42kg black bin waste. There is also a 60kg plan.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120523256#Comment_120523256

From what I can tell Panda have different plans in each area.

When I put in my Eircode the only monthly plan is for €22.50. It has unlimited brown and green bin waste and a black bin allowance of 65kg per month

It does look like a slightly better deal than Greyhound but I'll be honest I'm slightly tempted to move just to give Panda the middle finger

DownByTheGarden

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120520477#Comment_120520477

Probably be cheaper to go with Dyno rod :)

And anyone who lives in a council house wouldnt have to pay to unblock the drains anyway

muloc

I thought this €3.80 brown bin charge was all panda customers but then I see only 20% of customers

'The new charge of €3.80 per bin will be introduced on around 20 per cent of Panda’s 350,000 customers from May 8th'

Tarabuses

Some of use were already paying a brown bin service charge for several years.

the_amazing_raisin

After spending 20 mins on hold to Panda for the second day running and not getting through to anyone, I've decided to switch to Greyhound

The cheapest monthly plan for Greyhound is €2 per month more expensive and has a lower black bin allowance and black bin every 2 weeks instead of every week

But if I get a company which actually has a functional customer service then it's worth it IMO

I'll probably switch back in a year when my contract is up, but for now I'm done with Panda

Dr_Colossus

How do you cancel your account with Panda (does it have to be over the phone?) and how do you get the remaining "services charge" refunded.

I sent them a complaint a few days ago and haven't heard anything from them since regarding options regarding an offsetting reduction to the "services charge" so will be cancelling also and moving to CityBin who are in my area. As a light user it's a bit ridiculous having to move to a fixed cost monthly direct debit so there's literally no incentive to segregate, recycle and compress waste so instead will be putting out bins every week. With the new Panda compost lift charges the CityBin fixed charge will actually work out cheaper per year plus it has the added benefit of a 240 litre compost bin vs 120 litres with Panda.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120529251#Comment_120529251

I'll keep you posted on how it goes for me but Greyhound said they'll send a form to take back the panda bins and they'll cancel the account. I'm guessing others can do the same

Rock Steady Edy

After 15 years with Panda, moved to Greyhound last year. I got fed up with Panda's pay by weight and found to reduce costs I wasn't using the brown bin and only putting black bin out when it was full every 3 months. On top of that I was paying for dropping garden rubbish at the local recycling centre a couple of times a year.

Some quick calcs suggested Greyhound's €16.50 monthly charge was roughly the same cost as the above but allowed me to put the black bin out monthly and utilise the brown bin properly, including regular removal of garden waste.

Now we utilise the brown bin properly, we've found we actually only put out about 5-10kg of black bin waste monthly now, well below their 32kg allowance. At the end of the day, once you've separated out the organic waste and the recycling, there's very little left to go in the black waste bin.

A couple of months ago Greyhound said they were going to increase the price by €2pm, but negotiated it to a €1pm increase. Still below what they now seem to be charging new customers (€22.50pm) but if they try to increase it any further will just switch back to Panda who, judging by the rates mentioned, now have equivalent monthly / quarterly fixed rates.

L1011

Referral codes and requests to give/take them are entirely for the appropriate forum, and not for here.