Pensioners to protest over Panda price hike
hikes planned by
Panda waste
collection, are
planning a protest
march on the
c o m p a n y ' s
headquarters in
Navan next week.
Up to 100 of
Drogheda's seniors are
expected to take part in
the demonstration set for
Friday, August 1st.
The Senior Citizens
Interest Group maintains
the new waste service
charge and collection fees
announced by Panda,
mean an 81% price hike
for an elderly person living
alone and a 57% price
increase for an elderly
couple.
But Panda's general
manager Brian McCabe
maintains that if senior
citizens and others made
more use of their green
bins to recycle this could
provide the solution to the
problem.
Based on information
provided by households
on how often they use
bins, the Senior Citizens
group calculate that
elderly couples will pay
€97 per year more and
individuals face an
increase of €117.
'It is the service charge
of €90 per year that is
causing the huge price
increase, rather than
Panda's pay by weight and
collection fees,' said Dave
Turner office manager of
Drogheda's Senior Citizen
Interest Group.
However Panda's
general manager believes
that by recycling more
people can greatly
reduced their costs.
'Our service charge
includes two free bins,
green for recyclables and a
brown one for
composting, collected
every second week. But
from talking with senior
citizens we have
discovered some people
have no green bins or don't
use them,' he said.
The senior citizens
point out that Panda
operate a waste collection
service in the Dun
Laoghaire-Rathdown area,
where their fees are much
lower.
Panda's charges for
Drogheda announced last
week include an annual
fee of €90 per bin, a
charge of €7.50 each time
the bin is lifted as well as a
per weight charge of 28
cent per kilo.
'In Dun Laoghaire
Rathdown the company
has a yearly charge of €64
per bin, a €3.20 pick up
charge and a cost per kilo
of 20 cent,' Mr Turner
pointed out.
Panda's Brian McCabe
argues that south Dublin
has 'huge economies of
scale.'
'We have 30,000 Dublin
customers compared to
Drogheda's 8,000. Recyling
in Dun Laoghaire is also
incredible compared to
Drogheda,' he stressed.
The senior citizens
group say they accept that
with the rising costs,
particularly in transport,
some waste price rises are
inevitable.
Panda's general
manager said want to
listen to senior citizens
concerns and to consider
different payment options
for the company's annual
charge.
'We recognise people
need to be educated about
recycling and how this can
help reduce their costs
and save the environment.
Our future is not in
landfill, we will make our
money by recycling.
Panda's objective is to be a
low cost company and to
pass on the gains we make
in lower costs to our
customers,' said Mr
McCabe.
Both sides were
meeting yesterday
(Tuesday) as the Drogheda
Independent went to press
to discuss the waste
charges and recycling
issues.
