Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
135. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will give urgent consideration to the issues outlined by a company (details supplied) concerning the circular economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41298/22]
View answerMy Department has been engaged with this company for some time and I will be meeting their representatives later this week.Irish recyclers are competing for materials, including PET plastic, in an open market. At present, to meet the demand for competitive recycling services, some materials are exported for processing.Repak, the national packaging Extended Producer Responsibility scheme, promotes the proximity principle and maximises funding available to operators who collect, separate and reprocess PET plastics in Ireland:
- For household collections, an additional reprocessing subsidy was introduced in 2020 and is available to plastic re-processors in Ireland. In 2022 this subsidy increased from €35/tonne to €50/tonne.
- For commercial collections, the highest subsidy is payable where material is recycled in Ireland, mid-range funding where material is recycled in EU/UK, and a reduced subsidy for material sent outside Europe.
The Deposit and Return Scheme for plastic bottles and aluminium cans will be launched later this year and this will increase the quantity and quality of materials collected for recycling. Open tendering processes will be used to source operators for the recycling of this material and DRS will adopt green procurement principles to ensure services are provided with minimal impact on the environment.
The Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy 2020 - 2025 also commits to examining measures to support increased use of recycled materials in packaging including the possible introduction of a virgin plastic levy. Any intervention in the market must be carefully assessed and my officials are engaging with Repak and other stakeholders, to better understand current behaviour in the plastics recycling market. When further information is available, I will decide what, if any, action is appropriate .
