Vol. 564 No. 1
291 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his policy regarding the collection of plastic bottles for recycling in view of the fact that Ireland has the facilities for sorting, washing and recycling this material. [8797/03]
As set out in the policy statements Changing our Ways (1998) and Preventing and Recycling Waste: Delivering Change (2002), the Government is committed to a major reduction in reliance on landfill and a sustained expansion in national recycling performance across all waste streams. The recycling of post-consumer plastic beverage containers and other types of plastic packaging is generally more problematic than the recycling of other packaging materials due to the light weight to volume ratio, sorting and pre-treatment requirements, high-end market specifications and the associated costs involved. Accordingly, the recycling rate for plastic packaging is generally lower than for other packaging materials.
The local and regional waste management plans being implemented provide for a significantly increased network of bring facilities to facilitate increased collection of recyclables, including plastic beverage containers. Receptacles for the deposit of such containers are already in place in a number of areas. I am aware of one indigenous company which has limited facilities for the sorting, washing and pre-treatment of used plastic beverage containers. The local and regional waste management plans also provide for the progressive introduction of segregated household collection of dry recyclables. Approximately one third of all households already have these services. The collection of plastic beverage containers under such arrangements is contingent on the availability of material recovery facilities at which dry recyclables are sorted and baled for onward delivery to reprocessing outlets.
In November 2002, I announced the allocation of €15 million in grant assistance to help provide waste recovery infrastructure as the first round of allocations under the waste infrastructure capital grants scheme announced earlier last year. This scheme supports the development, inter alia, of bring banks, civic amenity sites and the expansion of an existing material recovery facility to facilitate increased collection and recovery of plastic beverage containers and other recyclables in the years ahead. I intend to announce a second round of allocations and additional financial measures in the near future.
Question No. 292 answered with Question No. 282.
