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Councillor calls for tax on plastic bottles

Councillor calls for tax on plastic bottles

An Independent Councillor in West Waterford has called for a tax to be introduced for plastic bottles and other containers.

Seamus O'Donnell says in 2016 littering cost Waterford Council three million euro.

He proposed that at least 10 cent be added to each plastic bottle "every fast outlet, chip shops and all, tax them as well - put at least 15 cent on them." He explained "if you go along the roadside you'll see bottles dumped out, you'll see chip bags thrown out." He believes the money used for the clean up could be better spent elsewhere telling the Dungarvan and Lismore District meeting that you'd "take a lot of people off trolleys" with three million euro.

Senior Executive Officer for the Environment Ray Moloney agreed that it's a substantial burden on the Council. However he clarified that "it's more than just litter, it's street cleaning, it's emptying of litter bins, it's clean up campaigns and all clean up of illegal dumping."

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In relation to the tax on plastic bottles he spoke about Norway "they have a charge on plastic bottles, you can return your plastic bottle to a machine and it will give you a receipt or voucher which can be used against your next purchase of a bottle of water."

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