Directive 94/62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on packaging and packaging waste (the Packaging Directive) classifies items such as bottles, drink cans and containers as packaging. The Packaging Directive is based on the concept of producer responsibility, which effectively requires producers to contribute to the waste management costs of products which they have placed on the market.
Under the Directive, Ireland's requirement to achieve a 60% recovery rate for packaging waste in 2011 had already been exceeded by 2009, when a recovery rate of 70% was achieved. The material-specific recycling targets of 60% for glass and 50% for metals had also been achieved by 2009, with recycling rates of 76% and 50%, respectively, recorded. The Programme for Government contains a commitment to drive a waste reduction programme as part of the overall approach to sustainable waste management. A levy on packaging is one of the possible elements of this waste reduction strategy.
A period of initial public consultation on a possible levy on packaging concluded in August 2011. The main issues examined in this consultation included:
The overall views of stakeholders on a packaging levy;
How a packaging levy might operate;
International experiences of similar levies; and
How a possible packaging levy might be structured to best contribute to a reduction in packaging waste.
Following on from this consultation, I intend to commence a full review of the Producer Responsibility Initiative (PRI) model in Ireland in 2012, which will include a review of the packaging recovery and recycling system. The packaging analysis will build on the initial levy consultation and will examine other relevant issues in the packaging arena, such as deposit and refund. The final report will make recommendations for changes to PRI policy, which will ensure that Ireland is in a position to meet more challenging waste recovery and recycling targets in the future in the most cost-effective manner possible.