Charges introduced at Tuam recycling centre

By SIOBHÃÂN HOLLIMAN CHARGES have come into effect for using Tuamâ€â„¢s recycling centre on the Athenry Road. Members of the public driving into the civic amenity site will be charged €3.50 each time and €5 if they also have a trailer. Galway Co Council handed over the operation of the facility to Barna Waste last September and until now recycling continued to be free of charge. The local authority is no longer involved in the day-to-day running of its civic amenity sites, which are located in Tuam, Clifden and Ballinasloe. Up to now members of the public could drive to the Tuam centre and dispose of their recyclable waste, such as plastics, paper and tins, free of charge. However the Council made no secret of the fact that charges would be introduced at some stage as part of the leasing agreement. A spokesperson for Barna Waste confirmed to The Herald that it began charging at the Tuam site on Monday. He said while the company didnâ€â„¢t formally announce the change, staff at the facility advised regular users over the past number of weeks that charges were soon being introduced. The charges donâ€â„¢t seem to have deterred the public from using the facility. Barna Waste said that 87 fee-paying customers used the Tuam site on Monday. A further 17 people either refused to pay the fee or said they would return at a later date with a larger collection of recyclables. Reasonable people â€Å“We have had some complaints, but most people have been very reasonable,â€Â said the spokesperson. He said the basic charge for a car is €3.50, irrespective of the amount of recyclables. â€Å“The charge is the same whether itâ€â„¢s a bag or a boot and back seat-full. For those wanting to get the most from the fee, they can collect their recyclables until they have a full load before visiting,â€Â he added. Previous proposals to introduce charges at the public recycling centres were met with vehement opposition from householders and public representatives who felt it would lead to an increase in illegal dumping. They also viewed it as a disincentive to recycle. Other local authorities have already introduced charges at their recycling sites and some, such as Limerick, have already handed over the operation of the centres to private companies. Galway Co Council previously said that it doesnâ€â„¢t expect the change to lead to a surge in illegal dumping, which is already a significant problem in rural areas and bogs. The Council believes that the tonnage of recyclable materials will remain the same. The changeover was included in last yearâ€â„¢s budget for Galway Co Council, which highlighted how the local authority is trying to cope with existing staff shortages.