It’s a boring subject that fails to capture the public’s imagination. That must be why Green party leader Eamon Ryan was forced to empty the contents of his green bin in the Dáil chamber, to try and draw some attention to the unnecessary wrapping and packaging which we are forced to take home from the supermarket. It is a big part of the broad discussion we need to have about waste disposal.

We have come a long way over the past 20 years. Remember the tipped over metal dustbins with potato peelings and dirty nappies strewn around neighbourhoods? These improvements have come in conjunction with the privatisation of the bin collection service, a hot political topic in itself. But the fact is that the improvements have happened with the introduction of the brown, green and black bins, and statistics show we compare very favourably to the rest of Europe when it comes to household waste disposal. And there are now fewer municipal landfills around the country, as we reuse and recycle more.

On the flip side, there are still idiots with no respect for themselves or others around them. Prime Time earlier this year highlighted fly tipping. It’s a dirty habit which is totally indefensible. I think it is more to do with ignorance than it has to do with cost avoidance. Whatever about other public services, waste disposal and bin collection should be paid for on a polluter-pays principal. You will have the imbeciles trying to avoid the cost by fly tipping, Let tougher penalties deal with them. For the rest of us, the only way we will be kept in line in terms of proper household waste management is to have a fee attached, with incentives for recycling.

Solidarity/PBP proposes handing back bin collection to the local authorities. Not a bad idea, but true to form, they throw a hand grenade and run away by giving the impression it would be free and paid for by someone else. With them, there is always somebody else to pick up the tab, as we will discover when this comes before the Dáil for debate again next year. Let’s hope that unlike with the water shambles, sense prevails and the revised charging system is fair, sensible and progressive.

In the meantime, all waste bills could be minimised if retailers and manufacturers worked sensibly to reduce the amount of waste that is filling ours and Eamon Ryan’s green bin every week. CL

Black card confusion

Can somebody please give me a concise definition of Gaelic football’s black card? Anybody? No, I didn’t think so. I sound like I don’t really follow the sport. But I would like to think I know a thing or two about Gaelic football, yet when it comes to understanding the black card, hands up, I know as much as the man on the moon. I am not afraid to admit that I have come away from more matches scratching my head, wondering what it’s exact purpose is. There’s just no consistency or specificity among referees in applying it. I thought it was to punish cynical play, such as purposely tripping a player in on goal. So what was Monaghan’s Darren Hughes black card for against Carlow last Saturday? Allegedly getting shirty with a linesman? Is that too a black card offence? Referees’ inconsistency in applying the rule is just not good enough and not fair on players. I realise that I am late to the table with this crib, as it has been criticised since its introduction. But it has become a farce and time it was given the red card.