Vol. 496 No. 6
331 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government when the draft EU directive on landfill waste will become obligatory; and its implications for local authorities who do not apply the polluter pays principle in regard to waste collection and disposal. [23465/98]
336 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his Department's alternative strategies to landfill, if any, for waste disposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23543/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 331 and 336 together.
In June 1998, the Environment Council adopted a common position on a proposed directive on the landfill of waste. The proposed directive is subject to co-operation, between Council and the European Parliament, and cannot enter into force until the relevant procedures under Article 189c of the Treaty on European Union are completed. Member states will be required to ensure the implementation of the directive not later than two years after its entry into force.
The proposed directive will require member states to ensure that all costs involved in the setting up and operation of a landfill facility, and the estimated costs of closure and aftercare, are covered by the price charged by the operator for the disposal of waste at that facility.
The operational and technical requirements provided for in the proposed directive have been anticipated by the comprehensive waste licensing system operated by the EPA under the Waste Management Act, 1996. Under the Waste Management (Licensing) Regulations, 1997, landfill facilities are licensable by the EPA on a phased basis in the period from 1 May 1997 to 1 March 1999. All landfill facilities, other than local authority facilities where the annual intake does not exceed 5,000 tonnes, are currently licensable; remaining facilities become licensable on 1 March 1999. It will be a matter for the relevant local authority to apply for a waste licence in respect of any such facility which it proposes to continue in operation after that date. Information on costs involved in compliance with EPA licensing requirements is not available in my Department.
Policy in relation to waste management is outlined in the recently published policy statement, Changing our Ways, a copy of which is in the Oireachtas Library.
332 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government when the producer responsibility for construction waste provisions of the Waste Management Act, 1996, will be brought into force and charges adjusted accordingly. [23466/98]
The construction industry has the primary responsibility to ensure the environmentally sound management of construction and demolition, C&D, waste. My Department will shortly engage in consultation with the construction sector with a view to the early development of voluntary measures which will meet the Government's objectives for the recovery of C&D waste. As indicated in the recent policy statement on waste management — Changing our Ways — mandatory producer responsibility obligations under the Waste Management Act, 1996 and-or measures very substantially to increase the cost of disposing of C&D waste to landfill are alternatives to be activated within two years in the absence of appropriate voluntary industryled initiatives.
333 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the local authorities which do not levy charges for collection and disposal of domestic waste and do not vary these charges according to usage; and the extent, in the case of each local authority, by which charges fail to reflect the full economic cost of waste collection and disposal services employed by households in their area. [23468/98]
I refer the Deputy to the reply to Question No. 69 of 13 October 1998. Information regarding the economic cost of waste collection and disposal in each local authority area is not available in my Department.
334 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government when the feasibility study on thermal and biological treatments of waste will be completed; and the way in which it will add to already available technical and financial data on these topics. [23470/98]
Three feasibility studies examining thermal and biological treatment options for waste are under way.
A study of thermal treatment options for waste in the mid-west and north-east regions will be completed in December 1998, while a parallel study for the Dublin region will be completed in February 1999. A substantive interim report on biological treatment options for waste in the Dublin region will also be available in February 1999, and the study in this regard will be completed in June 1999.
