Illustrative image / © AFP
Following a scathing statement from the Luxembourg Consumer Protection Association (ULC) regarding recent price increases, SIDEC, the intercommunal syndicate responsible for waste management in northern Luxembourg, issued a public response on Wednesday. SIDEC asserts that the current taxes are insufficient to cover its operating expenses.
In response to accusations of excessive waste collection charges, SIDEC emphasised that the taxes collected no longer cover the costs associated with their services.
Financial calculations presented at the last two SIDEC meetings revealed expenditures totalling €4.138 million, while revenue amounted to only €3.245 million. "The taxes collected for door-to-door waste collection are no longer sufficient," SIDEC stated in its press release.
This financial shortfall has been partly attributed to a significant increase in operating costs for the mechanical-biological pre-treatment facility for household waste, which surged from €300,000 to €1.3 million between January 2023 and January 2024.
The new waste collection rates were unanimously approved during a meeting on 20 November 2023. However, the process was delayed due to local elections and the appointment of new syndicate delegates, with the syndicate bureau being informed of the changes on 8 January 2024.
A subsequent vote on 15 April 2024 reaffirmed the new rates, with the Syndicate Committee approving them by 35 votes to one. The updated rates, which retroactively take effect from 1 July 2024, have since been adjusted.
SIDEC's member municipalities were officially informed on 22 May 2024. As a result of these changes, the annual cost of collecting a 60-litre bin will rise from €86 to €137.60, an increase of 59.3%. It is worth noting that the previous rate had been in place since 13 July 2015.
