OPPOSE THE BIN CHARGES - CORK

cork | bin tax / household tax / water tax | news report Wednesday December 03, 2003 21:00 by Kevin Doyle - Householders Against Service Charges corkhasc at eircom dot net 021-4503262

Don't Pay And Survive Bin Charges

Threatening letters continue to issue forth from Cork City Hall as the City Council looks set to begin a policy of non-collection of domestic rubbish in the city – for the second time in as many years.

Threatening letters continue to issue forth from Cork City Hall as the City Council looks set to begin a policy of non-collection of domestic rubbish in the city – for the second time in as many years. Readers may remember that Cork City Council attempted the same thing two years ago but very forced into an embarrassing retreat after a campaign of direct action organised by Householders Against Service Charges (HASC). HASC organised a public disposal of domestic rubbish on the steps of the City Hall in a year long campaign that saw the City Council use the Litter Act and other legal means to attempt to force city wide compliance. They failed, even after jailing a host of HASC activists in both Cork and Limerick jails. At the time CCC came to an agreement with HASC to desist from its non-collection of domestic waste policy. But this agreement has now been torn up.

Cork City Council’s new hard-line policy is weak at the seams however. Waivers are being handed out all over the place to lure payers, as are the usual threats directed in particular at the elderly and less physically able who are very reliant on council collection of their domestic waste. The CCC claims massive public compliance but the evidence on the streets of Cork indicates otherwise – be prepared for a massive increase in uncollected waste, sadly.

HASC is calling on people to continue their resistance to the new hard-line policy. The text of the leaflet – offering advice – which is being handed out city-wide, is reproduced below. In a late development, CCC has withdrawn unreservedly from the proposed prosecution of two long-standing members of HASC for non-payment of their service charges. CCC withdrew from the scheduled court cases after it became clear the hard-line City Manager ‘Thatcher’ Gavin would be forced to appear in court to defend his disgraceful behaviour to date. A prospect many were looking forward!

TEXT OF LEAFLET

OPPOSE THE BIN CHARGES - CORK
SAY NO TO THE CITY HALL BULLYING!


THE FIANNA FÁIL/ PD Government and Cork City Council want you to pay twice for your bin collection! But bin charges have always been difficult to collect so now Cork City Council is going down the disgraceful road of non-collection of domestic waste.

Householders Against Service Charges (HASC) have campaigned long and hard against service charges and double-taxation. As PAYE taxpayers we have already paid once for these services. Cork City Council now wants us to pay again. We are OPPOSED to Bin Charges and we are especially opposed to this new policy that will lead to hardship and an accumulation of rubbish around our city. We urge you NOT TO PAY you bin charges and overleaf we suggest ways in which you can survive the current attack from City Hall.

A BIT OF HISTORY

Cork City Council can’t be trusted. Two years ago they came to an agreement with HASC to abandon non-collection. Back then HASC organised a successful public campaign of resistance. Members of the campaign had to go to jail but eventually City Hall was shamed into a sensible course of action by the mounting public opposition to the jailings. Now Thatcher is back! (Sorry we mean Joe Gavin, the City Manager.) Behind this new attack is a long term plan to MAKE YOU PAY more. Here is what City Hall has in store:

 PAY AS YOU GO: CORK City Council wants YOU to pay for everything you use in the city. Bin Charges and a bogus ‘concern’ for the environment are being used to push through a strategy that will also see the introduction of water charges. The idea here is to shift the tax burden from the more well-off to the less. So called “flat-charge” taxation is levied irrespective of income. A millionaire will only pay as much as you or I.
 PRIVATISATION: City Hall's longer-term plan is to off-load as many services as it can to the private sector. Introducing charges is a way of making the sell-off attractive. But privatisation is a disaster. Wages fall. Most ‘private’ operators are anti-union. Services will crumble and DON'T FORGET privatisation will also mean the end of the waiver scheme.

Cork City Council claims the people of Cork support their policies. But we don’t and we won’t. Last month CCC issued summons against two prominent members of HASC claiming that the Council was owed bin charge arrears. HASC announced it would contest the cases in court and summon "Thatcher" Gavin. Cork City Council withdrew from the cases! The message from all of this is we can defeat these double taxes. If we stand together and refuse to pay, Cork City Council is powerless.


Don’t Pay And Survive Bin Charges

Although HASC is opposed to these charges, we are not opposed to improving waste management and building a cleaner environment. Below we list a number of ways in which you survive this new attack by the Council AND still reject the charges:

 MINIMIZE YOUR WASTE: Segregate your waste. Bring your cans, bottles, cardboard, newspaper etc. to your local recycle centre (see below). If you have a garden then compost your food waste - compost bins are available from most garden centres and even some from councils.
 PUT IT IN THE BIN LORRY YOURSELF: Simply take your rubbish in a black bag and when the bin lorry comes around your area, throw it in. Under the Litter Pollution Act (1997), Section 5, you are entitled to do this.
 SHARE YOUR WASTE: Have you got a neighbour (unemployed, pensioner etc.) on a waiver? Then approach them and ask for permission to put a bag in their bin. Offer to put out the bin for them occasionally. Most people on waivers oppose the charge also.
 TAKE IT TO WORK: Many work places have convenient skips to take your unwanted domestic waste… use them.
 RECYCLE CENTRES: Blackpool Shopping Centre: Glass Bottles, Cans, Paper, Cardboard. City Hall Car Park, Anglesea St: Bottles, Cans, papers, magazines, batteries. Ballinlough Pk: Bottles, cans, textiles, paper, cardboard. Blackrock, Pier Head: Bottles, cans. City Hall Multi Storey, Carpark ­ 5 levels: bottles. Clashduv Pk: bottles, cans. College Road, Brookfield Holiday Village: Bottles. Curraheen Rd, Dunnes Shopping Centre: Bottles, cans, textiles. Lee Fields Car Park: Bottles, cans, textiles. The Marina, near Pairc Uí Caoimh: Bottles, Cans. Togher Rd, Supervalu Shopping Centre: Bottles. Tory Top Road, Tory Top Park: Bottles, Cans. Wilton Shopping Centre: Bottles, cans, textiles, paper, cardboard. Civic Amenity Centre (City Dump) South Link: Glass bottles, cans, clothes, paper etc. Bishopstown Leisure World: Bottles, paper, cans.

Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the PDs and Labour have consistently voted for service charges since first introduced by the FG/Labour Coalition in 1983.

Issue by Householders Against Service Charges. e-mail: corkhasc@eircom.net
Northside: Mick @ 087-2052722 or Southside Joe @ 087-7756297