Vol. 457 No. 7
305 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the plans, if any, he has to stop the burning of large silage bale wraps and if his Department in co-operation with the Department of the Environment, will consider informing farmers of the danger to health and the environment posed by this practice. [16166/95]
While I am aware of the growing use of plastic wrap in making silage my Department's role is confined to encouraging good environmentally friendly farming practices.
My officials advise farmers to collect and store all plastic on the farm and reuse as much of it as possible. Plastic film used to bale silage cannot be reused and should be disposed of in approved landfill sites. In this regard, participants in the rural environment protection scheme (REPS) operated by my Department are required to dispose of all unusable plastic in this manner.
My Department is preparing a set of guidelines for the control of farm pollution generally.
