December 2016 – Updated September 2020

NWCPO-14-11447-05

CUSTOMER CHARTER FOR HOUSEHOLD WASTE COLLECTION

1. INTRODUCTION

Greyhound Household is committed to providing the highest standards in the provision of waste management services to their customers. We have a commitment to provide a service that seeks to incentivise waste prevention and to encourage the segregation of waste so that it can be managed in accordance with the waste hierarchy, whereby waste prevention, preparing for reuse, recycling and other recovery are preferred over the disposal of waste. This approach is in line with current national waste policy in the area – A Resource Opportunity – Waste Management Policy in Ireland. This document is designed to communicate how we intend to provide household waste collection services in accordance in these principles to the public in a clear and concise fashion.

2. CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDS

a) We will provide a regular and reliable collection service and process your waste in a professional and environmentally sound manner.
b) All service provision will be carried out in line with current local and national legislation and in line with sustainable waste management practices. Our National Waste Collection Permit Office (NWCPO) waste permit collection number is NWCPO-14-11447-05 and can be viewed at www.nwcpo.ie
c) We will provide you with timely, relevant and clear information regarding your collections, including temporary changes resulting from public holidays or adverse weather conditions.
d) We will consider any reasonable special requests that individual household may have.
e) We will explain clearly with our service rules are and the reasons for them, terms and conditions are available at www.greyhound.ie
f) We will respond to formal complaints received in timely and professional manner.
g) We will ensure that there are no direct impediments to you switching your service provider should you wish to do so.
h) We will design our service and carry out collection in a way that minimises litter or odour nuisance.
i) We will offer a ‘3 Bin’ service (to facilitate the segregation of residual waste, recyclables and food/bio) in line with the relevant regulations in relation to food/bio waste European Legislation S.I. No. 679/2023- European Union (Household Food Waste and Bio-Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2023. The frequency of collection will be as follows:

• Residual Waste Bin – in line with the European Union Regulations
• Recyclable Waste bin – at least every fortnight
• Food & Bio Waste Bin – in line with the European Union Regulations

3. COMMUNICATION WITH CUSTOMERS

a) We will explain clearly what services you can expect to receive and will provide details of the collection services we offer on a county/city basis to the National Waste Collection Permit Office for publishing on their website.

b) We will provide you with clear and concise options to view your statement and charges, we operate a prepaid system only.

c) We will inform all customers availing of a domestic waste collection service at least 10 days in advance of any predictable alternative arrangements made for collection in relation to public holidays etc. or any proposal to vary the level of collection.

d) We will keep you informed of any changes or improvements in our service.

e) At the time of initial service provision each customer will be provided with details of their service providers; full name and address, contact details (web site where available, phone number, email, postal address), a clear breakdown of pricing policy for provision of service, process of accessing account statement and balances, procedure for receipt of payments, process for dispute resolution, procedure for customers who have fallen into arrears with their payments, where applicable, service provision frequency and details and the procedure for cancellation of service provision, including refund of charges where applicable. You will also be provided with details of the period of validity for the offer provided and advised of a cooling off period of 14 days should you wish to change your mind.

f) In the case of e-Commerce contracts with customers, and in line with reducing paper usage, all communication and documents will be sent by email. In the interest of the environment and reducing costs we are committed to increasing communications by this method.

g) We will alert you at least 30 days in advance of the expiry of your contract.

h) We will produce a version of this Charter which has been approved by the National Adult Literacy Agency.

4. HOUSEHOLD RESPONSIBILITIES

a) In line with national policy, prevent, reuse and recycle waste as much as possible. Refer to national and regional campaigns that seek to help reduce waste production. Present your waste materials, properly segregated and placed in their respective bins / receptacles. Please refer to our Waste Segregation and Presentation Guidelines (see section 7 below) which are available on our web site or by post if requested.
b) Segregate your waste appropriately. Please note the procedure in place should the incorrect waste be placed in a bin (eg. Food waste placed in the recycle bin). Should a bin be found to be contaminated at the time of collection, we will place a notification on our bin stating that we could not collect the bin due to contaminated /incorrect material. A separate service arranged at a cost of €30 will be incurred, in addition to the weight/ lift/service charge. In the event of the contamination being identified post service; the customer may be charged a disposal / cleaning charge of up to €30 in addition to the weight/ lift / service charge.

c) In the event that you have difficulty paying your outstanding amount on your Greyhound account please contact us directly and we will do our best to accommodate a different waste plan for you.

d) Contact us, as your waste management service supplier if you have any queries on how best to manage any of your waste materials. We have the expertise to provide the appropriate service or advice on how to best resolve any issues.

5. PRICING, CHARGING MECHANISM AND ACCESS TO ACCOUNT INFORMATION

a) The range of service and costs for service provision will be clearly communicated to each customer.

b) New customers will receive information on charging and pricing structures at the time of sign up i.e. whether over the phone, via website sign-up or via completion of hard copy application form.

c) Information, including copy of Terms and Conditions of Business will be provided to Customers as per new Customer Welcome Packs and will be available on the company’s website and/or www.nwcpo.ie .

d) Any changes to the Terms and Conditions of the business will be communicated to customers in a timely manner.

e) Customers will be entitled to easy access to their account information.

6. COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE/DISPUTE INFORMATION

a) You are entitled to a fair and reasonable hearing when you have a genuine complaint or dispute and the company commits to resolving your issues as quickly as is reasonably possible. Please find our contact details for complaints:

FAO: Customer Care Manager
Greyhound Household
Crag Avenue
Clondalkin
Dublin 22
D22 E718

b) We will respond to formal complaints we receive about our service in a timely and professional manner. In the case of written complaints, within 10 working days.

c) Complaints shall be logged on the individual customer account with a tracking facility to ensure the complaint has been resolved and the customer notified of updates or the course of action taken to resolve the issue.

d) Dispute resolution including withdrawal of service will be in line with the company policy available on the company web site or sent out by post, on request. This will be a fair and equitable process in line with good consumer policies.

7. EDUCATION AND RAISING AWARENESS

a) We shall implement an education and awareness programme in relation to waste management for householders that we service. This will be available via promotional literature that we provide directly to you and via our web site or through the website of the National Waste Collection Permit Office.

b) Information packs shall be available to all customers clearly indicating waste types appropriate to each bin and how to present material for recycling.

c) We shall work with other national bodies in promoting waste prevention, reduction and recycling e.g. EPA / Repak etc.

d) We will provide Waste Segregation and Presentation Guidelines to customers, or at a minimum to the National Waste Collection Permit Office for publishing on their website, which clearly explains which materials are to be placed in which bin and collect at a minimum the recycling materials set out below and as prescribed in the seventh schedule of the Waste Collection Permit Regulations. We will explain to you what happens to materials collected in the residual, recycle and food waste bins.

8. TERMINATION OF SERVICE / REFUNDS / CHANGING SERVICE PROVIDERS

a) Should you wish to terminate your service provision, please advise us by telephone, giving 30 days’ notice. We will remove our empty bins by arrangement with you and any balance owing on your account, after a Cancellation Charge (if applicable) is deducted, will be refunded to you within 30 days of receipt of termination notice.

b) We will ensure that there are no direct impediments to you switching your service provider.

9. CHANGING EQUIPMENT AND OWNERSHIP OF BINS

a) At time of initial service provision, by agreement, each customer will be supplied with the appropriate bins / receptacles sized to service their specific needs.

b) In the case of changing equipment / ceasing service / changing service provider we commit to organising to arrange the collection of the old bins within a two-week period of the ceasing of the service.

c) This Charter does not affect your statutory rights in any way and provides a simple interpretation of our commitment to you, our customer, and what we expect in return, to help ensure that you are provided with the best service level possible.

“ We look forward to continuing to serve our customers into the future and passing it on to the next generation. “

Michael Buckley