Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 9 Feb 2000

Vol. 162 No. 5

Adjournment Matters. - Waste Management.

Ms Cox

I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for coming to speak on one of the most important challenges facing us. We have a national policy on waste management which we produced to meet EU requirements. We produce rubbish, therefore, we must get rid of it. A debate is taking place in most regions on how we will manage to get rid of waste and there is much concern about the introduction of thermal treatment as a new process.

Will the Minister and his Department consider, in order to properly inform the public, putting together an educational and informative video on waste management outlining our policy and the various ways to manage our waste, including recycling, reduction, reuse and thermal treatment? In a fair and unbiased way, perhaps the video could outline the pros and cons of all the types of waste disposal.

If we introduce thermal treatment, people will have a valid health concern with the emission of dioxins, particularly as we have always had a clean and green image. It might be important from a tourism point of view to ensure nothing we introduce takes from that. We need to take account of the amount of waste we produce and to work with the producers and sellers of goods to reduce waste by not accepting the mountains of wrapping we get when we go to the supermarket or the corner shop.

I would like to see an informed debate take place. It is within our remit in terms of education to try to ensure that we assist that debate at every level. Some 25% of the people have literacy difficulties. If we could introduce something which is audio and visual, it may help to inform all the people and not only those who are in a position to read the various plans and promotional literature published by the Departments and local authorities.

I accept the polluter pays principle and that we must do something about our rubbish. For too long it has been too easy to simply put rubbish in a plastic bag outside our house, which is taken away and forgotten about. Information and education are the key to properly managing our waste and ensuring our policy is implemented. I hope the Minister will consider my suggestion as a way to inform the public. With the introduction of recycling, reuse and reduction techniques, the Government might consider a moratorium on the decision on the introduction of thermal treatment as a process for managing our waste. We could use the interim period of two to three years to decide whether we could increase recycling and reduction techniques to a level where we could manage our waste by the use of landfill sites without having to introduce a technology such as thermal treatment.

I look forward to hearing what the Minister of State has to say and I thank him for coming to the House to reply to this matter.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Mr. D. Wallace)

I thank Senator Cox for raising this matter. Overall Government policy on waste management is clearly set out in the document Changing Our Ways, which the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, and I published in October 1998. A copy of this policy statement was provided at that time to every public representative in the Oireachtas and at local authority level, and it has since been very widely disseminated among the general public.

We are committed to a long overdue move away from one dimensional waste practices, based on landfill, towards a modern, environmentally sustainable system of waste management. Changing Our Ways sets out a broad framework for this transition. With a clear focus on the need to respect the waste hierarchy, Changing Our Ways strongly endorsed meaningful strategic planning by local authorities on a regional basis, a dramatic reduction in reliance on landfill in favour of an integrated waste management approach, which utilises a range of waste treatment options and the mobilisation of public support and participation.

The response of local authorities has been very positive. Emerging regional and local plans provide for an integrated package of waste infrastructure including extended networks of "bring banks", civic amenity sites and waste transfer stations, materials recovery facilities, biological and thermal treatment capacity and residual landfill requirements.

There has been a very strong emphasis on public consultation and engagement in this planning process and it is imperative that this continues. Public education, awareness and participation are an integral part of modernising waste management and are particularly valuable in the context of the specific plans now emerging and their implementation.

New waste facilities, whatever their nature, are generally unwelcome to the public and invariably generate vigorous local opposition. In the first instance, the public needs reassurance that high standards of environmental protection will apply at all times. Nowadays very strict standards are laid down for all waste facilities, whether they entail landfill or alternative thermal or biological treatment, and this message must be conveyed clearly.

There are negative perceptions about thermal treatment, particularly waste incineration. However, when carried on in accordance with high environmental standards, incineration is generally regarded as environmentally preferable to the disposal of waste by landfill. It plays a major part in municipal waste management in EU countries that would be regarded as environmentally progressive. It is also worth noting that EU standards for waste incineration were reviewed recently and are to be made more stringent in a new Community directive agreed by the EU Environment Ministers last year and now before the European Parliament. Apart from issues of environmental safety, there are other considerations associated with the various waste management options open to us. Each has advantages and disadvantages, from a technical, operational or financial perspective.

We need informed discussion of all the issues involved and meaningful public involvement and a policy of openness and transparency can mitigate the real concerns of host communities in relation to waste facilities of whatever kind. This will involve practical engagement with the issues across the different regions and I do not believe that a single video which, of its nature would have to be general in its treatment of issues, would be of any substantive value in this regard.

In the first instance, it is the responsibility of regional and local authorities, which will drive the coming transition in waste management practices, to inform and guide this public involvement process. These authorities recognise the importance of this task and will be increasingly active in this regard as the year progresses.

For instance, the local authorities in the Dublin region are already embarked upon a very significant public education and involvement programme with regard to the implementation of their regional waste management plan. Such a proactive approach merits support and my Department is exploring the scope for EU assistance towards such initiatives.

With regard to recycling and waste recovery generally, it is my intention, in association with the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, to prepare a further policy statement for publication this year. This policy document will address in detail the factors and practical considerations that are relevant to the achievement of Government policy objectives in this area. It will be widely disseminated.