USER PAYS............TWICE!

I covered the issue of environmental compliance in my earlier post ''Nigel and the Swallows''. At Heffernan Tyres we are proud of our record and all of our disposals are totally traceable and 100% recycled.
I also mentioned, anecdotally , the case of a rogue scrap dealer in the west of Ireland who stockpiled over one million tyres in a quarry.
It was therefore interesting to read  on etenders that a tender is out for the following;
''Galway County Council wishes to invite Tenders from competent, authorised and registered contractors to remove and dispose of waste material, namely a substantial quantity of end of life tyres''.
Two years after an RTE Prime Time investigates programme, the council in Galway are making tentative efforts to clean up an environmental scandal!
Incidentally that same council stockpiled truck tyres for a road building project some years back. They ''accidentally'' stockpiled too many and so are the proud owners of a large yard of useless carcasses.
It is not clear which stockpile the tender applies to. What is totally clear is the question of who is paying for the exercise. The Department of Environment funds the County Council and they are in turn funded by YOU the taxpayer. In addition to the actual tender price, there is the admin and bureaucracy that goes with this type of exercise. Bear in mind that consumers in many businesses across Ireland will have paid a disposal charge for the same tyres trusting that they were being disposed of properly. So User Pays Twice!
This will be an expensive clean up and like many Irish clean ups (Banks,etc) no one will be adequately punished by way of prison or sacking.

Councils, Government and regulatory bodies have proved time and again to be hopelessly reactive rather than proactive when it comes to matters of environment. It is therefore unfortunately up to the consumer to drive change.
Always ask what exactly you are paying for when an invoice says  ''environmental disposal''. Don't feel bad about asking for evidence of compliance at your local tyre shop. It's your right and you are paying for it.
Alternatively drive to our award winning depot where we will proudly show you our credentials. It's our country and it is in all or interests to keep it beautiful.