Win, win, win

Successive scandals have tarnished the image of the waste management industry in Ireland, but Co. Monaghan based McElvaney Waste and Recycling is one of the few companies that can hold its head high. John Loughran reports.

McElvaney Waste and Recycling has set a trend that will be followed by other waste contractors

In January 2003 McElvaney Waste and Recycling, based in Corcaghan, Co. Monaghan four miles from Monaghan Town was the first private waste management company in the country to introduce a "pay per weight" waste collection system for its commercial and domestic customers.

That the company ploughed ahead with this laudible initiative with very little government backing at either local or national level, bears testimony to the resilience of this most progressive waste management company.
In doing so McElvaney Waste and Recycling has set a trend that will be followed by other waste contractors the length and breadth of the country for years to come.

As a result of spiralling landfill charges, McElvaney Waste and Recycling had been forced to increase refuse charges to its 6,500 strong customer base year after year. With every increase, the company lost valued customers.

The truck is equipped with state-of-the-art weighing equipment

Managing director Hugh McElvaney could see the life-blood of his business - his customers - slipping down the drain and decided it was time to take action.

In seeking a solution to the problem, he was anxious to come up with a more fair and equitable system that would place the burden on the polluter.
The "pay per weight" model, which he finally settled on has proved to be win, win, win system for the customer, the environment and the company.

He explained: "Every year we lost customers, because we were forced to increase refuse charges. So we decided "pay per weight" charging was the way to go. That way the customers would only pay according to the waste they produced, which is a much fairer system."

Hugh had seen the technology needed to advance his 'pay per weight" proposal at a number of trade exhibitions in the UK. "We visited PM on Board, the British company that produces the weighing system required. They had piloted the scheme with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in south Dublin and it worked very well so we decided it was the way to go."

MD Hugh McElvaney

The movement into "pay per weight" waste collection represented a huge investment on behalf of the company. "Each system cost £25,000 plus the cost of the lifting equipment on the truck, which cost another £25,000 each.

Then we had to place a micro-chip on every one of our customers' bins. Finally we had to supply all of our customers with an extra bin for recycling," Hugh confirmed.
Landfill charges in the Monaghan area currently stand at £125 per tonne. To that end McElvaney's customers are charged £12.50 for every 100 kilos of waste collected, plus an annual service charge of £170, which covers distribution costs.

"The customer pays us exactly, what it costs us to dump the refuse at landfill, which is £125 per tonne. Everybody pays the same, whether they are living in the town or in the country. Our service charge works out at £3.27 per week, which would't buy you a pint," he quipped.

Significantly McElvaney's customers are all supplied with a recycling bin to enable cost or environmentally conscious customers to reduce their waste collection costs. Hugh elaborated: "The ball is in their court if they want to keep their weight and consequently their charges down. If they recycle using the "blue" bin they can make considerable savings."

McElvaney Waste and Recycling was the first private waste management company in the country to introduce a 'pay per weight' scheme

Incredibly the company's recycling service is covered by the £3.27 weekly service charge. "We collect the blue bins once a month and we take them to Monaghan County Council's material recovery facility, where the waste is recycled," he added.

Through the "pay per weight" and recycling initiative the company has been able to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by 30 per cent. "That is an awful saving at the landfill in terms of annual tonnage. We are confident that figure will rise further as customers get used to the idea of using the recycling bins."

McElvaney Waste Disposal and Recycling received considerable support - both moral and financial - from the local 'Leader' inititiative. "Allen McAdam from Leader was very helpful to us. It was the only support we got.
The Department is willing to fund local authorities in this area, but there is no support for private waste contractors," he noted.

More than 12 months on, Hugh is happy that his company took the "pay per weight" plunge. Equally the company's customer base is also happy with the new system. "The most important thing is that the customers are happy. They paid less for their bins charges in 2003 than they did the previous year, despite a 38 per cent increase in landfill charges."

Hugh estimates that his average customer saved £60 in 2003, as a result of the new scheme. Further savings would have been made, but for the substantial increase in landfill charges.

The new system hasn't placed a huge burden on the company from an operational, viewpoint. Hugh noted: "It has made very little difference to the running of the company. At this stage we have streamlined operations."

He continued: "Once a week we take the data card from the truck and download the information on to the computer. We then put in the card with the route for the following week. The driver of the truck or his helper aren't affected by the new technology. Their job hasn't changed."
In line with EU and Irish legislation the weighing systems are checked regularly by officials to ensure their accuracy. This monitoring process gives peace of mind to McElvaney Waste and Recycling and its large customer base.

While McElvaney's customer's are reaping the benefits of the new technology, there are also advantages for the company. Hugh enthused: "Only a handful of customers have left us since we introduced the service. If anything our customer base has been growing, which is very satisfying," he added.

The new system has also brought a new level of certainty to the business. Hugh affirmed:"We now know exactly how much we should be charging our commercial customers. The system has shown us that in many cases, we had been under charging some of our commercial customers. In that respect it has improved our profitability."

He concluded: "It is now a lot easier to plan our business. We know how much we can expect to make in any given year, and how much we can re-invest in the business. To that end we bought a new truck in January."