With the agreement of the House, I wish to share time with the Minister of State, Deputy Damien English.
Plastic and Packaging Pollution: Statements
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I was in St. Patrick's boys' national school in Drumcondra this morning. Tomorrow is a plastic-free day in the school. Getting that level of understanding among young people of how to deal with plastic waste through reduction and recycling shows how much attention the problem is generating. That is to be welcomed.
I acknowledge the Sick of Plastic campaign which will run from 21 April. The six principles behind the campaign are valid. I refer to retailers offering more products without packaging or with easily compostable or recyclable packaging, as well as households and consumers choosing products with easily compostable or recyclable packaging or using less plastic. I have worked successfully with major retailers on the issue of food waste. There will be a similar focus on plastics. In January, the European Commission published the European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy. The strategy focuses on plastic production and use. It sets a goal of ensuring all plastic packaging will be recyclable by 2030. Member states are asked to consider using the extended producer responsibility model in dealing with plastics. We have used the model successfully in Ireland.
This year Repak is celebrating 20 years as the producer responsibility scheme for packaging in Ireland. The success of the scheme is evident in the consistent exceedance of the EU packaging targets. In addition, Ireland has operated a successful producer responsibility scheme since 2001 for the collection of agricultural non-packaging plastics. My officials have also been encouraging stakeholders in Ireland to ensure they engage with the Commission on the pledging campaign contained within the strategy. I am also working at grassroots level in Ireland as I believe education is the key to effecting change.
Last November I launched the first ever national recycling list that covered the entire country. Regardless of where people live or what company collects their recycling bin, the materials going into it are the same. I also launched the recycling ambassadors programme at the end of 2017. It aims to provide 650 workshops across the country to educate communities on how to use recycling bins properly. Other suggestions have been made to me, including the introduction of a deposit and return scheme for plastic bottles. The merit of its introduction in Ireland is still under consideration. I am considering a pilot scheme for it. Introducing changes without detailed examination can have unintended consequences. Our waste performance meets our waste targets and is well ahead of most of our EU colleagues. There is no indication of what deposit charge is being proposed. One deposit return machine in a shop could cost €35,000 to buy. Any new scheme should be clear on how much it will cost, the additional waste benefit to be achieved and whether it will tackle the largest problems. The introduction of an expensive new system on top of what is already a successful kerbside collection system needs to be analysed carefully. That is why rolling out an initial pilot scheme would help to tease out many of these issues and the costs involved.
It should be borne in mind that the main cause of litter pollution in Ireland in 2016 was cigarette litter. Bottles accounted for 1.6% of total litter composition. Although I am pleased that the consecutive annual national litter pollution monitoring surveys have shown that the situation is generally improving across the country, I am still concerned that the fines for offences in place under the Litter Pollution Acts do not serve as a sufficient deterrent. It is my intention in the near future to seek Government approval for substantial increases in the statutory fines for litter offences.
Recently, I wrote to the European Commissioner with responsibility for the environment to welcome the plastics strategy. I assured him Ireland fully embraced the ambitions of the new strategy. I asked the Commission to focus, in particular, on the most difficult non-recyclable plastics such as soft wrapping, film and single use items such as coffee cups and plastic cutlery. I am determined to make sure these products, if they come onto the market here or elsewhere in Europe, will be recycled or biodegradable and that they will not go into landfill sites. On foot of this, I am looking forward to the Commission proposing within the next month EU-wide actions to tackle single use plastic items.
I do not have time to outline fully all of the work I am doing on plastics, for example, under the national waste prevention programme. However, I am aware that plastics present an urgent global problem. Ireland is taking action and we will take more in partnership with our European colleagues.
I welcome the EU plastics strategy. My Department and I are fully committed to working with the European Commission and other member states to achieve the ambitions set out in the first ever Europe-wide strategy for plastics, particularly marine litter. We are liaising and co-operating very closely with waste and litter policyholders in the Minister, Deputy Denis Naughten’s Department to develop a co-ordinated and integrated response to the strategy.
I welcome the proposals outlined in the strategy to reduce the amount of plastic waste entering the marine environment. I am particularly pleased with the proposal that all plastic packaging on the EU market be recyclable by 2030. Improved waste and litter management is fundamental in reducing the level of waste that becomes litter. Measures such as the plastics strategy are key marine litter measures for the purposes of the marine strategy framework directive. However, we will also have to work to reduce our consumption of plastic and also emphasise reusable over single use items.
Marine litter is a persistent problem affecting all regions of the world which needs to be addressed urgently. Plastic presents a particular problem. Owing to its buoyancy, it can be carried easily by currents or blown by winds from landward or seaborne sources. It persists in the environment for an extremely long time. It breaks down into secondary microplastic particles and there is a growing body of strong evidence that plastics and microplastics are impacting on marine fauna. As well as being created by the breakdown of larger items, microplastics are entering the marine environment directly in a wide variety of forms, some examples being fibres from artificial textiles or ropes, lost raw material pellets or through tyre wear. Some marine microplastics litter is also caused by plastic microbeads used in cosmetics, cleansing products and detergents.
As plastic marine litter is a transboundary issue, no one country can solve the problem unilaterally.
It is encouraging that the plastics strategy intends for the EU to take a leading role with member states engaging and co-operating to halt the flow of plastics into the oceans as well as taking remedial action against plastic waste already accumulated.
Ireland is actively involved on the international stage in developing measures to address marine litter. Ireland plays an active role on implementation and technical working groups under the marine strategy framework directive. We are also engaged with policy and working groups set up under the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic - the OSPAR Convention - to address the issue of marine litter in the north-eastern Atlantic area. I take great pride is saying that Ireland is a lead country in several of these areas. These actions complement the proposals in the plastics strategy, including those relating to microplastics in wastewater and storm water. Another proposal relates to co-leading an action to identify and assess measures to reduce the impact of single-use items commonly identified as marine litter. My Department is the lead Irish partner in the OceanWise INTERREG programme established to reduce the impact of expandable polystyrene as marine litter. The Marine Institute is involved in the CleanAtlantic INTERREG programme to identify marine litter hot spots in the north Atlantic region.
We commission, support and are involved in the oversight of an array of monitoring and research programmes related to marine litter. I am delighted that the plastics strategy places such a strong focus on innovation and research. The strategy also makes reference to the importance of public awareness campaigns. My Department supports a wide range of awareness-raising and citizen activation measures such as An Taisce's world leading Clean Coasts range of programmes, the green schools global citizenship and the marine environment programme. We are working to incorporate marine litter awareness into mainstream anti-litter programmes. These programmes are considered examples of international best practice. I am supportive of the recommendations emanating from the strategy relating to marine litter. The recommendations cover a wide range of actions, including reducing single-use plastics; tackling sea-based sources of marine litter such as ghost fishing nets; monitoring and curbing marine litter more effectively; curbing microplastics pollution; and restricting substances such as oxo-plastics. The beach litter surveys undertaken for OSPAR have identified that plastic, including single-use items and packaging materials, constitute the vast bulk of beach litter. I am mindful of the concern of Members and the public with regard to microplastics. I wish to assure the House that legislation is being prepared to prohibit the sale or manufacture of certain products containing microbeads.
Shipping and sea and ports are considered a significant marine litter source. Accordingly, we are assisting the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport on work to revise the EU directive on port reception facilities. We also work closely with Bord Iascaigh Mhara to encourage programmes such as the Fishing for Litter scheme.
I believe the EU plastics strategy will be central to achieving the target of reducing marine litter sources and inputs. We are committed to working with other EU states and the Commission to meet the high-level objectives of this strategy and the marine strategy framework directive to combat plastic pollution to protect our marine environment.
I am pleased to speak about plastics pollution. As the weather brightens, thankfully, and more of us can take a walk on the local strand, in the local forest or along the many roads, the prevalence of plastics throughout the country is glaring at us in the face. There is no way around it - we must dramatically reduce plastics production and the pollution that emanates from it.
Waste reduction is an area in which I am proud to say that Fianna Fáil has made a huge mark. Fianna Fáil made Ireland the first country to introduce a levy on plastic bags. This policy has been emulated by countries throughout the globe and it has kept millions of plastic bags out of our hedgerows, oceans, landfill sites and countryside. We also introduced legislation to phase out single-use non-compostable tableware. Unfortunately, the measures have been stalled by this Government.
While in government, Fianna Fáil introduced Repak, a not-for-profit company that supports recycling. The operation has had a major impact on recycling rates in Ireland, which increased from 15% to 66% between 1997 and 2011. That was more than a fourfold increase and one this Government has completely failed to match. Instead, the Government has seen the amount that Ireland sends to landfill rise exponentially. This is totally unnecessary. Never before have there been so many options to reduce packaging and process waste away from landfill, yet the Government is letting us slide into creating more and more waste, which in turn will eventually require more and more landfill. The option of exporting our waste to China and elsewhere is no longer possible because of the approaches those countries are taking in respect of imported waste.
We are all aware of the terrible impact plastic packaging and pollution has on our environment. Each year approximately 8 million tonnes of plastics flow into the oceans. I imagine many of us were shocked by "Blue Planet II", which showed how plastic pollution even affects waters and oceans that are thousands of miles from land. Plastics pollution impacts the ability of marine life to thrive. It completely destroys complex ecosystems, which we will never recover. Pollution has an extraordinary impact on human life too. It is estimated that billions of people ingest plastic either by drinking polluted water supplies or by consuming seafood that has ingested plastic.
There are more earthly reasons to reject excessive packaging. Packaging is neither free to produce nor to dispose of and it is producers and consumers who must bear the cost. The McKinsey consultancy firm has shown how consumer goods companies can reduce overall packaging costs by 10% by making simple design changes. We all know from paying household bin charges how expensive it is to dispose of waste. All too often people choose to dispose of their waste freely in the ditches and scenic spots around our towns, cities and countryside. It is estimated that approximately 60 tonnes of waste are dumped illegally in Ireland every day.
If we accept that the reasons to act are pressing, how should we go about reducing waste? It is my belief that individual consumer behaviour can only go so far in reducing the volume of waste that is sent to landfill and produced each year. We could have 100% compliance in recycling our recyclable waste, but this is worth little if we do not drastically cut the amount of overall waste.
Fianna Fáil believes that more must be done to move Ireland towards a circular economy. This approach, which essentially sees resources where others see waste, is rapidly gaining momentum throughout the world as governments and businesses begin to see the many opportunities contained within it. A major study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2015 found that using a circular economy approach could boost Europe's resource productivity by 3% by 2030, generating cost savings of about €600 billion each year. We support the creation of a cross-departmental waste reduction task force that would work with stakeholders and consumers to minimise the amount of waste produced in Ireland every year.
Like the Minister, I support the EU Commission's published European strategy for plastics in the circular economy. The aims and objectives of the strategy are good but it will require implementation. I am concerned because the Government has always been good to accept strategic positions but more is needed. I imagine there will be a launch and the strategy document will be part of it, but it will be an objective to which people will look. What we really need is an aggressive implementation plan. We all know what needs to be done but it is about getting it done and putting in place the resources to ensure it happens.
On a basic level, we all know what is required. The Minister cycles, walks and spends time in the countryside. At this time of the year, the hedgerows have not regained their normal strength. Spring has been a little longer in starting this year. People are out and about. I hear in the community of how people cannot get over the amount of litter that is thrown away. The waste is made up of fast-moving consumer goods. The way these goods are displayed, the amount of packaging and the non-biodegradable nature of the goods are such that they are causing major injury to our amenities.
We need to work on behaviour and we need to improve the sanctions in place. Local authorities need to do far more in detection. There needs to be more litter wardens in every village and town. We need to use modern technology. There is much talk about drone technology being used in certain large scale dumping environments, but we need to be more aggressive about using the laws in place and pursuing people for fly-tipping, which is having a fundamental injurious impact on our environment.
I welcome the opportunity to speak on the issue of plastics. I wish we were speaking about it with a better record in terms of reducing litter, reducing illegal dumping and reducing the volume of plastic we are producing.
I commend the Sick of Plastic day initiative that will take place this Saturday. The fact that this is happening and that people will be encouraged on Saturday to hand back to supermarkets and shops any excess packaging is welcome because the problem starts with the manufacturer and is then passed on to the wholesaler and the retailer. In Ireland, 983,380 tonnes of packaging waste was generated in 2015. That is a massive figure, and it will increase this year because we were only working our way out of a recession in 2015.
Manufacturers are creating a conveyor belt system of waste with little interest to date from Governments in terms of changing that. Some measures were introduced, and I welcome that the Minister mentioned that legislation on microbeads is being prepared. That is an issue we need to address, but the waste continues to be produced with excessive packaging on products. Plastic use in packaging accounts for 40% of Europe's overall plastics. At the end of the conveyor belt, that creates a burden on the householder and we see that it sometimes winds up being illegally dumped. People have to pay expensively to dispose of it.
The principles of reduce, reuse and recycle need to form the foundation of Government policy and we need solutions to be brought forward to solve the horrific problems of pollution and illegal dumping in the State. Sinn Féin is of the view that reduce has to be the first of those principles followed because we have to get to grips with this problem. Sinn Féin brought forward a Bill last year on establishing the type of deposit return scheme for plastic bottles and containers that the Minister mentioned. The Bill contained other provisions on illegal dumping and obligations on landlords and tenants. It is quite comprehensive. Considering the problem we face, it will take effective legislation and action to do this, but the Government simply rolled back from it. I put forward that Bill and I would like Government to give it serious consideration and to take it up. We are not out of the blocks yet in terms of seriously tackling this problem.
When we talk of plastics waste we have to start with the manufacturer and excess packaging and work back to the householder and deal with plastic waste along that chain in terms of reducing it. The figures we are dealing with, as I outlined, are staggering, both nationally and globally. I mentioned that 983,380 tonnes of packaging waste were generated in Ireland in 2015, which is a huge amount. A total of 32% of plastic packaging is escaping collection systems, and we all know where it is ending up. We can see it in rivers, in the ocean, and in hedgerows, and dumped over gates in fields, in bogs, in beauty spots, and all over the place. I have even seen plastics being dumped in lakes. A study was conducted by scientists from the National University of Ireland Galway who published a report this year on plastics pollution in oceans and in fish life. This study was conducted in a very remote part of the North Atlantic. I was shocked by its finding that of the fish analysed, 73%, or nearly three quarters, had ingested microbead plastics or plastics of some sort. Microplastics are contaminating everything, even our drinking water, which we all know, along with the fish in our seas. We are doubly ingesting plastics. Once plastics are in the environment, they take a long time to break down. It can take up to 400 years for them to decompose.
In 2015, the European Commission adopted the circular economy package. This is where waste is reduced to a minimum at source. This EU package contains action plans. The Government has acknowledged its support for the circular economy but this State does not yet have a policy document in place or planned to match that. That is the type of action that needs to be taken.
The production of plastics has doubly damaging, destructive and long-lasting effects on our environment. Plastics are affecting our environment through pollution on the land and in the ocean, but they are also the link between emissions and climate change, and we know the problem that poses, with 90% of plastics being derived from fossil fuels. That is a connection we have to make. If we were to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in the morning for heat, transport etc., we would still be drilling for oil because of our dependence on plastics made from fossil fuels, which are contained in many of the goods we have ranging from pens, tableware, plastic seats, seats in cards to dashboards. We need to address that.
I mentioned the conveyor belt system of waste from excess packaging, but what do we do with the waste or where do we recycle it? We have hit a brick wall with that because of China's decision earlier this year to ban the importation of recyclable material from this State. The latest figure we have is that 95% of our plastic recyclables were being sent to China. Now that the route for the vast bulk of this waste has been completely blocked, it leaves the State exposed. It is reminder to all of us of the amount of waste we are producing and that it does not simply disappear when it put in the back of a bin lorry as it is driven down the street. It has to go somewhere. The fact that the Chinese market has been closed off exposes us to the reality of the amount we are creating and the years of inaction in terms of how we deal with plastics waste at source.
The current model of household waste collection in this State is seen as unique in Europe. I refer to the side-by-side competition. The Minister has given more choice to the collection companies but less choice to householders. Companies will be charging more for recycling bins. Is that a backward step? Are we encouraging more illegal dumping? We need to examine that and pay careful attention to it.
The Citizens' Assembly has made recommendations on information campaigns around the benefits of tackling climate change and steps to reduce plastic packaging, including a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles. The Bill I brought forward last year on a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles etc. has passed First Stage.
The Minister said he intended to set up a pilot scheme. I welcome that but I question whether it is necessary to pilot it because these schemes have been common across many countries in Europe for decades. I agree with the Minister that we do not want to start some hare-brained scheme that will fail, but there are models in place. The economies of other countries in terms of the systems they operate are not that different from ours, particularly the northern European countries. There are models in place for decades that are operating well. The Opposition and the Government should examine those and pick the best from them. We should do this and not spend more time talking about it. That alone will not solve the problems with plastics but it will go some way towards dealing with them.
We need to consider many changes in policy and legislation. This State can and should be a leader in having a green environment and protecting it. We need to start by encouraging more people to reduce, reuse and recycle, with a major emphasis on reducing, particularly in terms of setting a good example but also in terms of climate change benefits. However, we are not doing that. In fact, we are blackguards. We are lagging behind on that. The reason for that has to start in this House with the Government's lack of imagination, initiative and action in dealing with these environmental issues.
We need to engage industry, local businesses, where I acknowledge some good work has been done, and local government. I have told the Minister previously that we need to engage local government actively in major initiatives. The local authorities are the closest to the citizen and to communities, and while good work is being done at that level, we have to step that up in terms of waste reduction. Good work is being done by Tidy Towns committees, the Green Schools programme and with retailers, but we need to accelerate a major drive towards waste reduction and only recycle that which cannot be reduced. Citizens must become more involved in that. If the Government is going to take initiatives on illegal dumping, they will be broadly welcomed, but I have yet to see the detail of those. I propose that we take more effective action on that.
The Garda, litter wardens and citizens have to get involved in this in terms of gathering evidence against people who are driving out to country areas under the cover of darkness, sometimes in good cars, Jeeps and other forms of transport-----
Not bangers.
-----and dumping large amounts of rubbish. To catch those people we need the active involvement of citizens. Drones are being used. They are becoming cheaper. We should encourage more use of drones. We have to stop this dumping. What I see on roadways and in hedgerows around the countryside is an absolute disgrace.
Hear, hear.
I welcome the opportunity to speak to this issue. As we speak, I have a Bill before the House on the prohibition of microbeads.
It is before the committee. On 28 March, we had a positive engagement with experts from NUI Galway, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology and the Department's officials regarding the Bill's progression.
I noted the words of the Minister of State, Deputy English, about the Government's intention to publish legislation on banning microplastics or microbeads, but we have yet to see the colour of the Government's money in that regard. There is evidence that it has been talking about this matter since 2016, but we have seen no legislation as yet.
I am happy to withdraw my legislation. I do not view it as partisan in any way. It follows on from a Bill that was introduced by Senator Grace O'Sullivan and can be amended. I openly acknowledge that it has flaws. Its intention is to ban microplastics and the scourge of microbeads, which find their way into river courses and out into the sea. There is an evidence basis for those plastics being ingested by fish and eventually working their way back into the human food chain.
I am hopeful that the Government will publish its legislation. A great deal of water has gone under the bridge since that commitment was first made in 2016, though, and we are now in 2018. According to the Minister of State, the Government will have legislated for this matter by the end of the year. I take his bona fides in good faith, but the Government has said all of this before. It would be easy for Deputies to be sceptical about whether the Government will produce that legislation, but we will hold it to account.
When they appeared before us on 28 March, the officials of the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, stated:
In relation to the Prohibition of Micro Plastics Bill 2016, our primary concern is that the legislation which will be required is technically more complex and challenging than is drafted in [my] legislation. As an example, as well as ensuring we have robust and future-proofed definitions of microbeads and plastic, we have to work out how the prohibition can be enforced, who will enforce it and what staffing and financial resources will be required to do so.
I take these comments in good faith, given that there are challenges, but they are not insurmountable. Rather, they are minor and I am surprised that they have not been contended with to date.
The officials stated further:
We are very concerned about the confusion between microbeads and microplastics in this proposed legislation as microbeads are only a small subset of microplastics. As has been highlighted in previous Oireachtas debates, a national prohibition of products containing microbeads will have implications for the principle of free movement under the provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
This is another red herring, a smokescreen that is being used to delay matters. There is precedent in the House. When a former Minister, Deputy Micheál Martin, introduced the smoking ban, a period of time passed before effect was given to the legislation and the same claim, that it would be contrary to free market rules, was used. It did not stop the ban coming into effect, though. The same can be done in this instance. There is precedent because other European Union member states have already instigated such a ban. The time is now. If the Government is serious, let it produce its legislation. Nearly a month has passed since the committee's interaction on my Bill and people want to see microplastics and microbeads banned. In terms of capturing the zeitgeist, people want an environment that is healthy, protects future generations against aquatic life ingesting these dangerous microplastics and ensures that our seas are clean, which goes to the heart of the matter.
The reputable academics, Dr. Audrey Morley, Dr. Kevin Lynch and Dr. Anne Marie Mahon, who appeared before the committee on 28 March gave extraordinary evidence. They told us about certain beaches in the west that they surveyed, and stated:
When we were there, the level of pollution on the beach was very obvious. As we were walking we said the sand looked interesting. When we bent down and picked up some of it, we noted it was not actually sand but 100% microplastics. Therefore, the sand on the beach is composed entirely of microplastics. The students were very interested in moving into this area. We were happy to supervise their projects.
The rest of the presentation that day was an exposition of that work.
Two issues arise. First, sand being replaced by microplastics is a worrying trend. Second, students have a significant hunger to research this matter because they want the problem eliminated. That is a positive sign. As policymakers, we need to move into this space more rapidly than we have done heretofore and legislate for the banning of microbeads. We should not be throwing up smokescreens about whether doing so would be contrary to EU rules. Other EU member states are moving rapidly in this space. Ireland is an island and a maritime nation. As such, this is an existential issue for us. I do not see why we cannot have a greater degree of urgency in this regard.
I am hopeful that the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, will publish his legislation, but the Government should remember that it does not have a majority in the House and my Bill is still surviving before the committee. I will keep my Bill on the table and will only withdraw it at such time as I am sure of the Government's commitment to legislate for what is a very important issue, given that it speaks to future generations of Irish people.
I am sharing time with Deputy Gino Kenny, with seven minutes for me and three for him.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
We are having this debate because I requested it at the Business Committee a few weeks ago. I thank the other parties on the committee and the Ceann Comhairle for agreeing. My request was prompted by the fact that the Sick of Plastic campaign's day of action is this Saturday and I was keen that the House would debate the matter before that positive initiative, which will involve many environmental groups and young people. I was also prompted by an inspiring visit to Newpark school, which my son attends, a few weeks ago. The transition year students have a campaign, called "Plastic Outta the Park".
It is a fantastic initiative essentially to eliminate the use of single-use plastics, particularly plastic bottles, and replace them with multi-use receptacles. It is a very positive initiative. Civil society, environmentalists and young people are leading the fight. They are absolutely right to do so. We all need a good kick up the backside to understand how serious this is. I did not really understand how serious it was until I saw a film called "Trashed" a few years ago. I showed it in here. It was a film made by the actor Jeremy Irons, who came to the Dáil to show the film. Very few people actually turned up to watch it. I had not seen it. I was asked by Jeremy Irons to put it on in here because he was showing it in parliaments in a number of places. I was shocked by what I saw in that film.
Anybody who looks into the facts of plastic pollution could be nothing other than terrified. If the threat of climate change is an existential threat to humanity so is plastic pollution. The facts are really scary. We throw enough plastic away every year to circle the entire planet four times. Of the plastic we use, we use 50% just once and throw it away. Only 5% of the plastic that is used globally is recovered. Plastic accounts for 10% of all waste generated. It uses up about 8% of the world's oil production. As has already been mentioned, the connection with the oil industry is very important in this regard. In America, they throw away 35 billion plastic water bottles every year. Annually, 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide, which is more than a million every minute, and 46% of plastics float and can drift for years before eventually concentrating into big ocean gyres. It takes about 1,000 years for plastic to degrade and 97% of all plastics that have ever been made are still in existence, much of them floating in the world's oceans. The great Pacific garbage patch which was featured in the "Trashed" film is absolutely terrifying in its proportions. It is twice the size of Texas. It is just off the coast of the United States and is a massive concentration of plastics. About 40% of the surface of the world's oceans is covered in plastic. One can go on. Annually, 1 million sea birds and 100,000 marine animals are killed from plastic in our oceans. About 44% of sea bird species have plastics inside them or on them. I can go on with the terrifying details. Plastic is choking the oceans and potentially choking the life out of the world we live in. We need to act very soon and very radically if we are going to address this.
It is not just microbead plastics we need banned. We need to ban all non-recyclable plastics. All non-biodegradable packaging should be banned. It cannot be done overnight. We should set an ambitious target for doing it. We should set a date for a couple of years' time and tell producers and retailers the ban is coming in a couple of years and they better get with it. They should get with the programme and stop producing these plastics. They would have to start to move towards it. Things like a deposit and return scheme are good but we need to be much more radical. We used not to have plastic bottles. I remember we used to have glass bottles and one got 5p back on them. Why did we get rid of them? We used to have a thing called the Irish Glass Bottle plant that did all the recycling. Disgracefully, it was closed down. We should have our own recycling industry in this country recycling stuff that cannot biodegrade and stuff that can be recycled but does not damage the environment. We also need to invest seriously in developing alternatives to plastic packaging.
I was in Oxford a few weeks ago. There is a small company there producing film-like plastic that is not plastic; it is made of sugar. One can eat it and it biodegrades. There was stuff on the radio the other day about the enzyme that eats plastic. Coincidentally, I got a call from an old mate of mine who is producing this stuff. It is an enzyme that eats plastic. This stuff can be done but it needs Government investment and support to do it.
If we are serious about this, the whole recycling and waste collection system needs to be taken back into public ownership and standardised. If one just looks at what the private producers are doing, there is no consistency in what one can and cannot recycle. Their policies are being dictated by what is profitable for them rather than by what is good for the environment. We have to take profit out of the equation and for the State to take the lead in getting rid of these plastics that are destroying our planet.
It is good we are having this debate about single-use plastics and the throw-away culture in capitalist society. Most people became fully aware of the crisis after seeing David Attenborough's "The Blue Planet" documentary. People were aware of what plastics were doing to the planet. It was utterly depressing when they opened a whale and found over 200 types of plastic in the belly of the animal, which killed it. Anybody watching would be completely depressed and we need to do something about it. One can get very depressed when one thinks about environmental issues. Sometimes one says to oneself that nothing can be done and the results seem inevitable. There is a new movement on the planet and it is well ahead of Governments, particularly this one. It is the plastic pollution revolution. We do not need the vast majority of things we get in the supermarket. I looked at my green bin yesterday. The packaging and stuff that comes with buying things in the supermarket is just not needed. Most of the stuff that goes into the green recycling bin goes over to China. There is no logic to the wastefulness of society. We are having a debate about coffee cups. Every single plastic coffee cup has to be 100% recyclable. In the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, all the cups are 100% recyclable. I think the same is true in Leinster House. They are not in most coffee places. It is unforgivable. Most people are well ahead of that.
I do not know if the Minister alluded to the deposit and return schemes in his speech. There is a fascinating movement going on across the world. Some countries are well ahead and 38 countries have deposit and return schemes. In supermarkets, there are machines that take cans, plastic bottles and glass and give people back money or credit in the supermarket. Every supermarket and shop in this country should have one of those. Most people would agree to that. They have them in Norway and Germany. In Holland, they have one plastic that is completely oil-free. It is a great initiative. The Minister might take up my suggestion to call all CEOs of the big supermarket chains in and explain to them that we want to try to roll this out as a scheme in most supermarkets. I know it cannot be done in every shop. I am sure big supermarkets such as Tesco, Dunnes, Lidl and Aldi would be on for the idea of a kiosk that accepts plastic bottles and gives money out.
Another thing I hate, as I am sure anybody who walks around Ireland does, is the use of plastic bottles. Plastic bottles are thrown everywhere. If they were worth 20 cent, little young fellows would collect them. Back in my day, they used to collect glass bottles and bring them down to the supermarket. Placing a monetary value on used plastic bottles would make people recycle. In 2003, in Germany less than 40% of plastic bottles were recycled.
Now, since the deposit and return scheme started, 99.9% of all plastic bottles are recycled because of the monetary return. It would be at least a start if the Minister could take that on board. Capitalism is a very dirty system but we can start with something where we can all make a difference.
I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute briefly on this important topic of plastic and packaging pollution. Just yesterday I received a reply to a parliamentary question I raised on the Minister's plans to introduce a recycling deposit scheme for plastic containers following the example of the UK and EU member states. It was disappointing, of course, that he told me that the 2014 review of the producer responsibility initiative model in Ireland did not recommend the introduction of a recycling deposit and refund scheme. I welcome, however, the Minister's reply that following Deputy Ryan's recent Private Member's Bill the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment has been asked to examine "the implementation issues, the likely costs and the effectiveness of a proposed deposit and refund scheme in Ireland". When will this examination be completed? Can we aim for budget 2019?
It is done. It is finished.
That is great news. We need to move on this as quickly as possible. Given the concerns about climate change, time is of the essence. Earlier this year, scientists from the National University of Ireland Galway published disturbing research which showed that more than 70% of deep-sea fish in the Atlantic Ocean had ingested microplastics. It is reported that more than 8 million metric tonnes of plastic end up in our seas annually. There have also been recent reports on the huge levels of plastic and other rubbish being deposited in the oceans by the shipping industry and I recall debating that issue in particular when I was a spokesperson on the marine in this House. There could be between 80,000 and 100,000 large vessels on the oceans now. There are particular problems with plastic and other dangerous rubbish being dumped in rivers and carried to the seas in a number of countries. Yesterday, the Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, attended the launch of the iMARL project in Dún Laoghaire. He pointed out that there are 300,000 miles2, or 500,000 metres2, of ocean which we have a primary responsibility to protect.
More than a third of products sold in the EU annually are wrapped in plastic and the Minister has reported that 1 million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute. Public information campaigns to educate and change public behaviour on the use of plastics is important and the public is very willing to be educated in that respect. What frustrates people much of the time is the performance in the retail industry in particular of producers and retailers. The key responsibility rests with producers and businesses, especially those in the retail market to change their behaviour and use biodegradable and sustainable packaging for all their products. As in the case of the glass bottle industry in the past, people are exasperated that they cannot buy apples, oranges, tomatoes and potatoes, basic food ingredients of our daily lives, without having to get a plastic bag as well particularly in the winter months. The other responsibility rests with the Minister. He has the executive responsibility to act with budgetary or other measures as necessary, including bans, on non-biodegradable plastic packaging and other plastic products.
Climate change is one of the most pressing matters for our future generations. We are seeing the real impact of our changing climate over recent decades and again this year. The UK Government, with its Commonwealth partners, recently announced a £61.4 million fund which will be divided between research, manufacturing in developing countries, improving waste management as well as a pledge to match public donations. This morning it was announced that the UK plans to ban plastic straws in England and cotton buds and other single-use plastic products will be banned in the coming year. Scotland last January began consultation to ban the manufacture and sale of plastic cotton buds. Our plastic shopping bag levy has been in place since 2002 and it was increased to 22 cent when it seemed there was a reversal in behaviour. We should now introduce a levy on disposable coffee cups. It is welcome that we recently switched to compostable takeaway coffee cups here in Leinster House. Can the Minister tell us if this has happened across the whole of Government?
The new ban on imported plastics in China has put the ball in our court. The Citizens' Assembly, which has been doing stellar work on important issues since last year, this week laid its report, How the State can make Ireland a Leader in Tackling Climate Change, and 98% of the members agreed that climate change must be at the centre of policy-making here. We seriously need to reduce emissions in transport and agriculture. Let us start with major actions to move away from plastics especially in the retail sector.
I am glad the Minister is here for this debate. In this initiative we are being led by people on the ground who are way ahead of us. Sunday is Earth Day and the focus is on the global to support the effort to eliminate single use plastics. On Saturday there is an initiative to encourage large supermarkets and retailers to refuse the use of plastic packaging on food. There is also the Citizens' Assembly. I come from Galway where I and other politicians were led by the nose. Management were led by the nose when the people of Galway showed what was possible and we reached 70% recycling in a pilot project. The engineers had told us it was not possible. They said 45% over five years was the maximum. The reality is different.
Plastic manufacturing employs 1.5 million people in the EU and has a turnover of €350 billion. That accounts for only 18% of the plastic produced globally every year. It is obviously very good for the economy on one level but all Deputies have considered its consequences. The plastic in our oceans occupies a space three times the size of France. Before I came in here I was going to say it was the size of France but my colleague in my office corrected me. That is an incredible figure and if it does not force us to show leadership and take action I do not know what will.
The scientists in NUIG, in my city, have studied only the north-west Atlantic Ocean and have shown that 73% of the 233 deep water fish there have ingested plastic particles. They are entering the food chain with unknown consequences for not only the environment but for human health. The World Economic Forum projects that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans.
The last time we spoke on this subject when the Green Party tabled its Bill the Ceann Comhairle said he would show leadership and take action. I understand he has done that in the restaurant. Will the Leas-Cheann Comhairle come back to us with details on what action was taken? As a result of the debate some action was taken on a minute level.
There is huge potential for jobs and the economy. Only 3%-5% of all new plastic products use recyclable plastic. The other 97% or 95% is going to waste that cannot be recycled. We have no choice but to recognise that this is a crisis and to listen to those who are begging us to show leadership and do something about it. I would like the Minister to come back to us with an action plan. We do not have a bad record on repackaging and recycling plastic under EU regulations but that target has changed significantly and in 12 years' time we will have to reach the target. What is our action plan? Will we meet that target? I would like to see a written report every six months showing what progress we are making. In addition to each of us taking action in our daily lives, we need leadership from the Government. We all need to be involved. The Minister needs at least to produce a six-month plan, given what I and other Deputies have just said.
As several Members said, this Saturday people throughout the country will be engaging in a campaign - the Sick of Plastic campaign - to call for a change in how we use plastic. It will be led by Friends of the Earth and supported by VOICE Ireland. It will ask people to shop and drop, or to leave their plastic packaging at the shop as a statement of intent in where we need to go. The campaigners will not be alone. As it happens, as part of the national spring clean organised by An Taisce and others and the ongoing clean-ups that take place, there will be a huge clean-up along the canals in this city and, I am sure, County Roscommon. Canal clean-ups have been occurring for years and are very successful. In my locality we will be going along the River Dodder. Dodder Action does work pretty much every month, but the big clean-up will be this Saturday. People will go out to get plastic out of the environment.
Anyone who wants evidence that we have a problem will see that the River Dodder is awash with plastic. Owing to the heavy storms, all of the litter upriver has been washed down in the past month. Therefore, every low-lying branch along the river is coated like tinsel on a Christmas tree, except with waste plastic, which we will take off. It is a slow, dirty job but a rewarding one. Having done the clean-up for a few years, I realise people are more conscious about protecting their local environment and deeply concerned. That is why they understand we need to treat plastics differently.
As Deputy Gino Kenny said, people such as Sir David Attenborough are showing the significant consequences of plastic waste, not only in the River Dodder in my area but also in the marine environment and the rest of the natural environment. According to European plastics reports, 85% of beach litter is plastic. It is worse in the ocean because the materials do not break down in it. They break down into smaller parts but do not decompose. They do not break down for hundreds of years. The smaller parts which become even smaller as a result of abrasion get into the food chain, about which there is increasing scientific concern and to which Sir David Attenborough pointed. It calls for immediate action to stop us from using plastics.
On the related issue of climate change, for every 1 kg of plastics we use 6 kg of greenhouse gases are emitted. I refer to the energy and source materials used. Plastic is oil based. What is occurring must stop rapidly.
Last but not least, people are exercised by this issue and joining the Sick of Plastic campaign because they understand what is occurring. In one part of the world, be it the Middle East, Venezuela or North Dakota, oil is being drilled at a huge cost, in energy terms, and polluting the water. It is then being shipped to the other side of the earth to be turned into a plastic pellet which is then shipped to another location where it is turned into a plastic container. It is then shipped to another location where it is turned into a product for wrapping or a cup. It is then shipped right back across the world to Dublin, for example, where it sits in my hand for about three or four minutes, after which it is done. There is considerable movement of materials backwards and forwards. Unfortunately, according to the European Union, only 30% of single-use plastic is recyclable. Ireland is not very different in that regard. The waste is such that only 5% of the economic value is retained. As the European policy paper states, in this process there is waste in the order of €70 billion to €105 billion, in addition to the destruction of the planet. Everyone is now copping on and saying it has to stop. That is why there is not only an EU plastics strategy but also a circular-economy strategy.
When we dump our plastic, we ship it back to China. It is contaminated. Because the Chinese environment has become desperately polluted, the Chinese have said they will take no more. This system has to change, which is why people are looking for action. It is not rocket science. It is difficult in the sense that it means changing our entire systems, but we should remember the age-old adage that we should reduce, reuse and recycle. Reducing, the first and most important principle, is the easiest. The best way to reduce the amount of plastic used is to ban it. In our legislation which we presented almost a year ago there is a provision to ban the likes of plastic straws. I am sorry, but we just do not need them. As Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett said, it is not a difficult choice. It is a matter of saying, "Sorry, they are gone." The same applies to plastic forks. Fair play to the Ceann Comhairle in that regard. He has been instrumental in helping us to make some small but not insignificant changes in Leinster House. For years in the canteen there were plastic forks which were used just once for two minutes to eat a slice of cheesecake, which probably stays on the hips a long time, as they say. Where does the fork go? At least, there is now a wooden fork which will not be in the environment decomposing for several hundred years. It will decompose in several weeks. The same applies to microbeads which were referred to by Deputy Sean Sherlock. Making a similar decision on their use would be an immediate, easy way to reduce the amount of plastic in the environment.
The Conscious Cup campaign recognises that it is not very difficult to have a refund scheme for cups. One would have a bamboo cup. We have been using some that can be used for as many times as one wants. A cultural change is required, but it can be effected. Twenty years ago no one was using throwaway, single-use materials. Therefore, it is not impossible for us to change. It is not impossible to move away from using plastic bottles altogether. People are doing so in Trinity College Dublin. They are making really ambitious plans because the college is a contained area. The Trinity plastic-free campus campaign has done a brilliant job in testing the idea that we may not need so much plastic and that we could use water fountains and recycle, for example.
We need to be radically more ambitious about recycling. It starts with the likes of a deposit refund scheme for plastic bottles, which is also part of the legislation we presented last year. The Minister asked about the rate. To a certain extent, the legislation gives the Department flexibility because it is best placed to make the decision. It gives time for implementation. I suggest a rate of 20 cent per bottle, similar to the rate it seems that the UK Government wants to introduce later this year. It is not out of kilter and would offer people a real incentive. If one was to do this, one would achieve a 95% rate of return and recycling, as Deputy Gino Kenny mentioned. One would have high-quality recycling material and could develop a local industry, rather than shipping material to China. It is not rocket science and not untested. It was done across Europe. It is about to be done in the United Kingdom and it is being done in America. We can do it here.
On Deputy Thomas P. Broughan's point, the Department might state we have not engaged in enough analysis. I am sorry, but to my mind we have. We are using the findings of EU analysis. We brought over Dr. Dominic Hogg from Eunomia. He has been a leading expert adviser to a number of international organisations, including the European Union. He set out in detail in our committee hearings how we could proceed and how it made economic sense. It is not very expensive. In fact, it would save money. If the system was designed well, it would help smaller retailers and give footfall back to them. It is ready to go. It is to be presented to the committee pretty soon.
This is an important issue. There was a good news story today. At a meeting of the finance committee the Department of Finance agreed to a money message for Deputy Thomas Pringle’s Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill. It is not what I would want; I would want a stronger, Bill but it got through Committee Stage today and will proceed through Report Stage. It is about to be enacted. It is the first chink in the armour in terms of the control of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform over the ability of this House to legislate. I hope the second chink will be made by the Waste Reduction Bill which will be considered in a couple of weeks. We have the numbers here. It is very practical and simple; it is not difficult legislation. We will not opt for a ban on coffee cups because there is a legal difficulty, but we will opt for a levy instead. It is an easy amendment for us to make and it is coming at the Government. If it refuses to issue a money message, it will need to outline the grounds for its decision.
Must we conduct more research? Must we go back to the Library and Research Service, which has done a good job with us in the past year, and conduct more analysis before we can make a political decision, which is what we are entitled to do? We are at the centre of our democracy and we can say we are sick of plastic and that we will legislate to help the country to become good at recycling, reducing and reusing. That is why our Bill is one element in a series, including the clean up. If anyone, including the Ceann Comhairle, is in Dublin next Saturday, I will be at Donnybrook bridge at 10 a.m. to clean up the River Dodder and we might head on to the canal from there.
I am grateful for the opportunity to make a contribution to this important debate. On what is a difficult day for the Minister, I appreciate that he has remained in the House for the entire debate. I pay tribute to him as a constituency colleague because he has been active on this issue and he approaches it with great passion and commitment.
As our party spokesperson, Deputy Timmy Dooley, said, we very much support the debate. The issue needs to be discussed more regularly in the House. The debate has been interesting and while, naturally, we would like the Government to do more, we all agree that we have a massive problem with the plastics industry. However, we also have to recognise that there are several hundred firms in the industry which provide thousands of jobs. Deputy Catherine Connolly referred to the number of staff and the revenue generated by the industry in a European context. Nevertheless, as we drive through the countryside - the Minister has been angered by this - we can see what has happened and local people are angry and annoyed. The N5 runs through our constituency from Tarmonbarry on the County Longford border to Ballaghdereen on the County Mayo border and the littering on that national route is so bad that people are proposing to go on the road to slow traffic down, which I would not advise them to do, and show motorists what they have to clean up on the side of the road. They find plastic cups, nappies, used contraceptives, clothes and newspapers. Tyres are dumped in abundance beside roads.
The Minister diverted money for litter control into our area to clean up a mess. While one person dumping a small bag is against the law and he or she must be dealt with, groups are going around under cover of darkness and telling people that they will dump their bags of litter for a small charge. There are not legitimate operators and they are doing enormous damage throughout the country. We have to implement laws to deal harshly with them. I do not seek a severe penalty on a minor offender but these operators need to be dealt with. People can tell the Minister where this activity is a problem. One tonne bags are filled to the brim with waste and thrown on to our bogs. It is difficult to identify who is doing this but we need to review legislation in this regard and take a no-holds-barred approach to dealing with these people. Let us cut to the chase; they should be jailed. They will keep doing this unless we introduce legislation. I accept that others dumping waste must be dealt with under the law but not to the same extent. These groups operate under the dark of night and are taking waste from people who may be unable to pay for their waste to be collected. However, I always say to constituents that if they have a problem getting rid of their waste, they should get on to their local authority to deal with it and not dump it in the countryside.
It is great that all schools at primary and second level are into recycling and litter prevention in a major way. They have adopted the green message and that gives me hope for the future. However, we are at a critical juncture and the House will have to take action to deal in a serious way with this major issue.
A sperm whale washed up off the coast of Spain in February this year. Biologists who recently carried out an autopsy discovered plastic bags, a jerrycan, several pieces of rope and net, and even a 5 litre drum. The volume of human trash in the whale weighed 30 kg or 66 lb. The experts confirmed that the plastic killed the whale. It could not digest it and died due to a blockage. The case triggered international outrage and campaigns against single-use plastic, which often ends up in our oceans and inside unfortunate creatures such as this sperm whale. Statistics show that more than 500 marine species are impacted by plastic pollution. A previous study found more than 5 trillion plastic pieces in the ocean, leading to the ocean floor being described as "a plastic cemetery". With 8 million tonnes of plastic ending up in the ocean every year, researchers say that by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans. That is equivalent to 620,000 Eiffel towers or 60 million blue whales.
There are always ways to reduce our plastic usage and I concur with other speakers that young people get this. However, this requires strong, systematic efforts by all sections of society. We urgently need a strategic approach to changing mindsets on the dumping of plastics. Legislation is needed to ban single-use plastics and to ban plastic microbeads from cosmetics and detergents, which I have raised in the House previously. We need to include all citizens, not just young people, in this campaign and continue to highlight the detrimental effects that plastic waste has on our environment and wildlife. It is incumbent on policymakers, corporations and all citizens to play their part. As Deputy Eamon Ryan and others said, this is National Spring Clean Week. I commend schools and Tidy Towns committees for their work in that regard. I spent 25 years on a local authority and they would put our local authorities to shame. Councils such as my own did away with plastic bring banks, which is outrageous, when as a country we dispose of 3.6 million plastic bottles annually. I could go on and on about microbeads and the effects of showers and so on.
We should look to ban unnecessary plastic packaging. The United Kingdom states it will eliminate plastic waste by 2040. We need to set a target in that respect. Ireland was to the fore in this regard when the plastic bag levy was introduced. The smoking ban was implemented indoors. A similar, robust campaign is needed to get everyone on board to ban single-use plastics, plastic packaging and the dreaded microbeads. Plastic pollution is having a detrimental effect on marine life and, in particular, it impacts on breeding and growth patterns. It is a known scientific fact that many fish species are beginning not to know what sex they are. On a positive note, just this week, scientists created an enzyme capable of eating plastic that will help our approach to tackling pollution. This will be a biological catalyst but the research has a long way to go.
Deputy Eugene Murphy referred to illegal dumping, a scourge right across the country. No matter what clean-ups are done on the roads or elsewhere, they are as bad each week. We can introduce CCTV and impose heavy fines, but people need to learn from the young. I say this as a former teacher. They put us to shame on this issue. While the European Union is looking at this, we need to move swiftly with our own legislation in order that we can lead by example. We need to get serious about cleaning up our water systems and setting cleaner environmental standards. We all have a part to play. It is important to reflect and say Ireland produces, per person, 61 kg of plastic per year, which is almost double the EU average. China will not take our waste any longer. To get a message across, every time one washes a fleece in a washing machine, scientists tell us that over 1,900 particles of plastic material end up in the water system.