Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2006
857 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on the conclusions on waste regulations (details supplied) which were adopted at the EU Environment Council on 27 June 2006; and the meaning of these conclusions in the Irish context. [26232/06]
View answerI welcome the conclusions adopted at the recent EU Environment Council which build on earlier conclusions adopted during the Irish Presidency in June 2004. The use of economic and market-based instruments such as landfill taxes, environmental levies and pay-by-use is widespread throughout Europe. Their use has been encouraged by the EU and OECD who see this as an important mechanism in tackling pollution.
Where economic instruments are well designed and targeted, case studies show that even quite small changes in price/cost can send strong signals as to desired behaviour. The operation of the plastic bags levy is an excellent example of the impact which such instruments can have in achieving such behavioural change. Under national policy, economic instruments form part of an integrated range of measures — comprising legislation, producer responsibility initiatives, awareness campaigns and the provision of infrastructure — to support the achievement of environmental objectives in terms of promoting waste prevention and facilitating materials recovery and recycling.
In Ireland, the plastic bag and landfill levies have been in place since March 2002 and Pay-by-Use was rolled out nationwide during 2005. These measures have contributed to the success achieved in recent years in the growth in recycling and to a decline in the degree of reliance on landfill. It is a matter for the individual Member States to decide on the extent to which such measures are used.
Significant strides have also been made in recent years in ensuring that the price of waste management activities reflects the costs associated with such activities. Problematic individual waste streams such as packaging, electrical and electronic equipment and farm plastics have been tackled through producer responsibility initiatives which are based on the polluter pays principle and which are now operating successfully in Ireland. Further progress to expand producer responsibility to other waste streams is continuing and my Department is working with the relevant sectors of industry in developing similar initiatives for other waste streams such as tyres, newsprint and batteries.
The overriding environmental aim of these measures is to promote the sustainable use of natural resources, reduce negative environmental impacts and reverse trends in waste generation.
