I propose to take Questions Nos. 157, 167 and 205 together.
A coherent, integrated approach to waste management has been put in place through my Department's policy statements Changing Our Ways, Delivering Change, and Taking Stock and Moving Forward. The Government's approach is based on the internationally recognised waste management hierarchy of prevention/ minimisation, significantly increased levels of recycling, energy recovery and, finally, utilising landfill as the last resort for residual waste that cannot otherwise be recovered.
A key priority currently is the development and roll out of a National Waste Prevention Programme. A Core Prevention Team was established in 2004 in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and drive the Programme. The Core Prevention Team is in the process of developing baseline studies as part of the initial phase of the Programme. The initial budget for the National Waste Prevention Programme is €2m.
A key component of the waste management system in Ireland has been the development of producer responsibility initiatives. The longest-standing of these, in relation to packaging waste, has been very successful. Repak, the industry based body charged with responsibility for packaging waste recycling, is currently working on a six-year strategy that will be based on the principle of waste prevention and will identify initiatives aimed at promoting prevention and minimisation in the area of packaging. More recently, successful producer responsibility initiatives have also been introduced in relation to farm plastics and waste electrical and electronic equipment. I recently made regulations for a further producer responsibility initiative in relation to an EU Directive on end-of-life vehicles. These initiatives are based on the promotion of waste prevention and minimisation objectives. Work is also underway in developing producer responsibility initiatives for waste tyres and for newsprint.
Waste prevention and minimisation has also been actively promoted in the Race Against Waste campaign. The media campaign has focused on the prevention of waste and the need to reduce, reuse and recycle and aims to turn awareness on waste issues into action to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill. The campaign has also worked closely with Environmental Awareness Officers in all of the local authorities, who work locally with householders, schools, businesses and community groups. It has encouraged communities to minimise, recycle and compost their waste through the national Tidy Towns competition's Race Against Waste module.
In addition, waste prevention targets for biodegradable waste were recently set out in the National Strategy on Biodegradable Waste. The projections of biodegradable waste arising in future years in the Strategy are based on an expectation that the waste prevention initiatives outlined above will yield benefits in reducing the quantity of biodegradable municipal waste which would be generated in their absence. These targets are: 3% reduction factor in projected Biodegradable Municipal Waste (BMW) generation each year from 2005 to 2007; 4% reduction factor in projected BMW generation in the period 2008 to 2010; 5% reduction factor in projected BMW generation from 2011 to 2013; and a 6% reduction factor in projected BMW generation in the period 2014 to 2016.
I have no immediate plans to introduce further legislation in this area. My Department is currently participating in discussions at EU level on a new Waste Framework Directive which will include provisions on waste prevention. It is likely that legislation will be required to transpose the new waste framework directive into Irish law following agreement being reached by Member States and its coming into effect.