Now there's a question. If recent waste collection figures produced by local authorities are anything to go by, the 'polluter pays' principle has been a resounding success . . . at least in theory. According to Cork county council, in 2003, before pay-byweight charges were introduced, the average amount of refuse presented per household was 1,200kg. Following what the council said was the "successful" introduction of pay-by-weight, the average has plummeted to 405kg per household . . . onethird of what people used to throw out.

That's just the ecologically-minded Leesiders, though, isn't it?

Apparently not. A spokeswoman for Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown council last week said that the number of people leaving out their bins to be emptied has almost halved from 95% of householders last year to under 50% today. Both Cork and Dun Laoghaire operate a double pay-byweight/use system with an annual fixed charge and then an additional charge for each kilo of waste collected. Cork, for example, has a 120 annual fixed charge and then 47 cent per kilo collected. Other councils apply a fixed charge but then charge for each bin 'lift' irrespective of whether the bin has an empty crisp bag in it or is crammed with domestic debris.

But why charge to collect rubbish at all when we already pay for it through tax?

To force you to produce less waste so you don't have to pay as much! Introduced by local authorities three years ago in a bid to get householders to dispose of their waste in a more environmentally friendly way, payby-weight/use followed the now well-established eco-theory that if people have to pay to dispose of their waste, they will cut down or recycle . . . the 'polluter pays' principle. Recyclables such as paper and cans were collected free of charge, while civic amenity sites and bottle banks accepted waste for a nominal charge. Compost bins were also provided.

Of course, it has also been a handy little earner for the local authorities and, by extension, the Department of the Environment in that it's now getting paid for a service it once had to provide for free.

Where once your bins were collected every week in return for your tax, now you are paying from 270 to 400 a year.

So not everyone's happy?

Not quite. The Department of the Environment insists that since the introduction of waste charges, every local authority must run its waste collection service on a cost-neutral basis. In other words, minister Dick Roche will not be giving councils any more taxpayers' money to collect refuse. But with householders drastically cutting the amount of waste they put out for collection, the income for local authorities is dropping at a similar rate.

At the same time, the local authorities have inherited a large contingent of public service workers with job security and relatively good wages and conditions who operated the old service. The huge number of private operators that have sprung up all over the country employ cheaper workers and can easily undercut the councils.

In Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown, pay-byweight has been so 'successful' that the council wants to make 16 of its refuse collection workers redundant. But the rationalisation move has been disputed by Siptu and both parties went to the Labour Court last month, with the outcome still uncertain.

The majority of refuse collectors in private companies are not even in a union.

And not everybody in Cork has signed up with the council to have their refuse collected, so it is now forced to tout for business to fund the service. With several private operators working in the county, the county council now advertises its waste collection charges as being "competitive for the consumer" . . . not words you would have associated with the bin collection service.

The traditional Christmas collection by binmen is also now a thing of the past as householders are no longer willing to tip for a service they are already paying for.

Almost half the councils, and particularly those in rural areas, have thrown in the towel altogether. They don't provide any waste collection service at all, leaving it up to private companies to do the job.

Once again, where has all the rubbish gone?

Nobody really knows. Latest figures from the Environmental Protection Agency show that Irish households generated 1,737 tonnes of waste in 2004, or 430kg per capita, which continues the upward trend of the last few years. According to the European Environment Agency, Ireland is the highest per-capita generator of municipal waste (mostly household waste) in the EU.

Though recycling is now firmly established with an ever-increasing number of civic amenity sites and bottle banks all over the country, this doesn't account for what amounts to at least a halving of the waste presented by householders for collection. And while composting is also catching on, this could hardly account for the missing rubbish either.

People are burning it in their gardens?

Yes, and at an increasing rate. In a recent survey by the EPA, one in 10 householders admitted to backyard burning. And the EPA acknowledges that this is an underestimate as most people are not going to admit to the EPA that they are breaking the law. Some 15% of people believed burning rubbish in the back garden was acceptable, even though this is the biggest single source of dioxins in Ireland. The 80% majority, however, said they were aware of the environmental and health risks.

Who does the most burning?

Rural areas and villages, where 15% and 11%, respectively, admitted to backyard burning.

It is less of a problem in cities and suburbia where just 4% say they do it. However, the EPA points out that almost one in four households in Ireland does not have kerbside waste collection and this problem is most acute in rural areas.

What can be done?

Very little. The EPA admits that, with such large numbers persisting with backyard burning, "public education campaigns are unlikely to be sufficient". Last week, Dr Dara Lynott of the EPA warned householders not to use traditional Halloween bonfires to dispose of waste, but they still did. "It is a growing problem nationwide with 80% of local authorities identifying backyard burning as as a significant issue, " said Lynott. "It is important to remember that backyard burning is illegal and can result in prosecution."

And does it?

Not really. Few are prosecuted. And the burning goes on.