Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 28 Nov 2002

Vol. 558 No. 3

Written Answers. - Waste Disposal.

Breeda Moynihan-Cronin

Question:

48 Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the steps being taken to ensure that there are adequate facilities for the safe disposal of domestic fridges and freezers, having regard to the requirements of the new EU directive; the progress which has been made with regard to the planned cross-Border initiative in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23874/02]

Ciarán Cuffe

Question:

176 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the steps he has taken to ensure that fridges are recycled here; the percentage of fridges currently being recycled; and his views on whether the high recycling charges being levied by local authorities for accepting used fridges is militating against their recycling and recovery. [24073/02]

Minister for the Environment and Local Government (Mr. Cullen)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 48 and 176 together.

Since 1 January this year, Regulation EC 2037/2000 has required the recovery and destruction of ozone-depleting substances contained in domestic refrigerators and freezers. In addition, European Commission Decision 2000/532/EC revised the EU list of hazardous waste to include, with effect from the same date, equipment which contains CFCs. These changes affect the disposal of fridges and freezers manufactured before 1994, which contain CFCs in insulating foam as well as in fridge coolant. While technology is available in Ireland for the removal of CFCs from the coolants, no equipment is yet available for the removal of the insulating foam. Accordingly, since 1 January fridges and freezers cannot be dealt with by the traditional method of degassing, recovering the metal for recycling and sending the remaining waste to landfill.

I understand that in the absence of treatment facilities in Ireland, a problem also being experienced in other EU member states, a number of local authorities have made arrangements for the storage of fridges and freezers or for their export to appropriate European recovery facilities. Such arrangements may involve co-operation with private waste companies. In the interest of a longer-term solution and within the co-operative framework of the North-South Ministerial Council, my Department has developed an all-island approach to this issue in co-operation with the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland. Tenders were sought in September 2002 on behalf of all local authorities on the island for the provision of a service for the management of waste fridges and freezers. These tenders are now being considered, with a view to the provision of such a service as soon as possible.

In relation to the issue of charging for the acceptance of waste fridges and freezers, local authorities are empowered to charge for services that they provide. It is a matter for each local authority to decide whether or not to charge for this service having regard to local authority costs in dealing with waste fridges and freezers and the overall waste recovery objectives of their waste management plans. In this regard, the current tendering process is aimed at providing a cost-effective solution to the management of waste fridges and freezers.