Vol. 475 No. 7
130 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for the Environment the date on which the recycling firms operating under the REPAK scheme will receive their funding; and the arrangements, if any, he has put in place to ensure that such firms are not undermined by delays in the provision of such funding in the place of already discontinued voluntary funding schemes. [5882/97]
I have recently published draft regulations which provide for the imposition of obligations on suppliers of packaging and packaged goods to take specified measures to facilitate the collection and recycling of packaging waste. The draft regulations also provide for the approval by the Minister for the Environment of schemes for the recovery of packaging waste. Suppliers who are participating satisfactorily in an approved scheme will be exempt from the main requirements of the regulations. I propose to bring the regulations into effect in May 1997 following the obligatory period of three months consultation with the European Union. I expect that the REPAK scheme, which is at an advanced stage of mobilisation, will be submitted without delay for approval under the regulations. The detailed contractual and other arrangements between REPAK and recycling firms will, however, continue to be a matter for negotiation and agreement between the parties concerned.
