The National Standards Authority of Ireland is warning bin companies they could be prosecuted if they fail to comply with the new pay-by-weight regulations.

Minimum charges of 11c per kg for black bin waste, 6c for brown bins and 2c for green (recycle) bins were due to come into effect on July 1. An outcry from political parties and environmentalists resulted in the green bin charges being scrapped, but the charges will still come in for black and brown bins.

From July 1, NSAI inspectors will regularly check the accuracy of bin-weighting equipment to ensure people are being correctly charged.

Head of NSAI’s legal metrology Paul Turner said he wanted consumers to have confidence in the system.

“Nobody wants to pay more than they have to when it comes to being charged for collecting their waste,” he said.

“Our role is to give people confidence that when the bill comes through the door, that the weight used to determine that bill is correct.”

He said their inspectors would be carrying out regular inspections around the country to ensure waste was being correctly weighed by bin companies.