Waste Disposal
There are a number of options when it comes to disposing of your waste:
- Recycling
- Disposal via registered contractor
- Composting
Where can I find a list of waste disposal companies?
You can find them within local advertising directories, newspapers or by visiting the National Waste Collection Permit Office (NWCPO) website National Waste Collection Permit Office – Search Permits: http://www.nwcpo.ie.
Authorised Waste Collectors
The Council regulates the collection of domestic waste by licensed waste contractors. You can contact any of the listed contractors below and arrange to have your refuse collected.
- Mahony’s Waste Disposal – https://www.mahonyenvironmental.com/
- Mc Elvaneys Waste & Recycling Ltd – https://www.mcelvaneywaste.com/
- Oxigen Environmental –https://oxigen.ie/
- Cavan Waste Disposal – https://oxigen.ie/
- Blue Dolphin, https://www.bluedolphinrecycling.ie/
- Ace Environmental Ltd, https://www.aceenvironmental.ie/
- Ecological Waste Management Ltd, https://www.ecological.ie/
New Waste Management Bye-Laws for County Monaghan
Monaghan County Council has made new Waste Management Bye-Laws entitled:
These Bye-Laws came into effect on 6th January 2020 and are designed to ensure that both household and commercial waste generated in County Monaghan is better managed or recycled and disposed of correctly.
To comply with the new Bye-Laws, you will need to demonstrate that you are managing your waste in a responsible and legal manner. These Bye-Laws will apply to all households, apartments and commercial premises.
In order to manage your household waste correctly you need to be able to prove that:
You have a contract in place with a permitted waste collection contractor (bin sharing is permitted for which proof of agreement is required);
You can demonstrate regular use of an authorised waste facility.
Why do we need these Bye-Laws?
To help you manage your waste in an environmentally acceptable manner.
To ensure that your waste is only given to a permitted door-to door waste collector or brought to an authorised waste facility.
To help ensure your waste is correctly segregated, and recycled;
To reduce illegal dumping and backyard burning.
What happens if I don’t comply?
If you fail to comply with any of the requirements of the Bye-Laws, it may result in a Fixed Penalty Notice (Maximum €75) being issued by this Local Authority or a member of An Garda Síochána. It may also lead to a fine on conviction of up to €2,500.
What does this mean for waste collectors?
All authorised waste collectors, collecting household waste in County Monaghan, must provide a separate food waste collection service or ‘brown bin’ for their customers.
What must I do with my food waste?
Once you have separated your food waste from your general waste you should either:
- place the food waste in a brown bin for collection by your authorised waste collector
- bring the food waste to an authorised facility for treatment such as your nearest civic amenity site.
- carry out home composting and turn your food waste into compost
A householder should NOT deposit food waste in the residual waste bin/ ‘black bin’.
New Food waste Regulations Come into Force
Minister Eamon Ryan has signed into law the European Union (Household Food Waste and Bio-waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2023. To date, waste collectors were only required to provide a third bin in urban areas of agglomerations of greater than 500 households, but the new regulations require all waste collectors in the State to provide their customers with a residual waste bin, a mixed dry recyclable bin and now a “brown bin” for their food and light garden waste regardless of their location.
Under the regulations all households will be obliged to segregate their food waste and either have the food waste collected by an authorised collector, compost the food waste or bring the food waste to an authorised facility and any households not availing of a food waste service will be required to notify their collector in writing, together with details of how they will manage their food waste.
An additional feature of the regulations is that waste collectors will be obliged to keep records of customers not availing of a food waste collection service and to make this information available to the relevant local authority on request.
To assist Local Authorities in this regard Ministerial Guidance on the Establishment and Maintenance of a Reverse Register under Section 34C of Waste Management has been issued to local authorities which allows for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant establishment and maintenance of an postcode register, which can identify addresses from which household or commercial waste is not either collected by an authorised waste collector, deposited at a waste facility or otherwise disposed of or treated in accordance with the Waste Management Act.
Further guidance on the implementation of the new regulations will be communicated to all local authorities through the Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authority Offices (WERLA).
Why are these changes taking place?
Under the ‘Landfill Directive’, Ireland has been directed to divert biodegradable waste away from landfill. Biodegradable waste is made up mostly of food and garden waste, which when sent to landfill, is a major source of methane, a gas which not only causes odour nuisance but also damages the ozone layer, resulting in global warming and increased UV exposure.
Should I carry out home composting?
Yes, home composting is a great way to deal with food waste such as fruit and vegetable peelings, tea bags and coffee grinds.
There may, however, be a portion of your food waste which is not suitable for home composting, for example cooked food, meat, fish and poultry, as the odour might attract vermin.
If you propose to use home composting, therefore, you will need to give consideration as to how to deal with this portion of your waste.
In any event, you will need to be able to demonstrate to Local Authority personnel that you are dealing with your food waste in one of the ways outlined under the ‘Household Food Waste& Bio-Waste Regulations 2015’.
For further information on home composting, please check www.stopfoodwaste.ie
Where can I put cat litter, dog faeces and disposable nappies?
They CANNOT be put into the ‘brown’ food waste bin. They must be put into the residual ‘black’ bin.
What happens to the waste in the ‘brown bin’ after it has been collected?
All ‘brown bin’ waste will be transported to a composting plant where it will be broken down at high temperatures and converted into compost for re-use.
Will my bin smell and be messy?
If food waste is wrapped in paper (e.g. newspaper) and the lid is kept closed, there will be little or no smell.
There is no reason why the ‘brown bin’ should smell any more than the bin it went into previously, as long as it is put out for collection frequently (fortnightly is recommended).
Placing cardboard or newspaper at the bottom of the bin will soak up any liquids and reduce any smell or mess.
Bins should also be washed out regularly.
Where can I put my garden waste & grass cuttings?
This may be accepted into your ‘brown bin’ but you will need to check with your waste collector first. Otherwise garden waste can be composted and in most cases is accepted at your local Civic Amenity Site.
It must never be placed in the residual waste bin (i.e. ‘black bin’).
Composting
Composting is the decomposition of organic waste by natural organisms under controlled conditions. This may sound complex, but composting is an easy and effective way of doing two things:
It can reduce the amount of waste that we dispose of by up to 33%.
Producing rich, quality compost that can be used in your garden.
What can I compost?
As a basic rule you can compost anything that was once organic, such as:
Vegetable peelings.
Banana skins.
Bread.
Pasta.
Cut flowers.
Tea leaves.
Coffee grinds.
Egg shells.
Egg cartons.
Paper (in small amounts).
It also includes garden waste such as grass cuttings, tree and shrub clippings, hay, straw, saw dust.
I have my materials ready for composting, what do I do next?
In order to begin composting, you will need a compost bin and they are available from most recycling and garden centres.
Your composting bin is then used to store the range of organic waste, which over time is processed into high quality compost.
When composting, it helps to have a good mix of green and brown materials. Examples of what the green and brown materials are can be found below.
Green materials
Grass Cuttings.
Kitchen Scraps.
Vegetable Peelings.
Young Weeds.
Tea leaves/bags.
Brown materials
Egg Shells.
Hedge Clippings.
Autumn Leaves.
Paper.
Straw.