Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 April 2023
118. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will provide an update on the work his Department has undertaken on requiring a certain amount of floor space in supermarkets of a certain size to be reserved for reuse and refillable products, following recommendations to the Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action in 2021. [19923/23]
View answerThe Circular Economy Act 2022 (‘the Act’) aims to support Ireland’s transition to a circular economy by providing the necessary legislative basis for several key measures including the Circular Economy Strategy, the Circular Economy Programme, the National Food Loss Prevention Roadmap and the Circular Economy Fund.
While the Act does not specifically contain provisions in relation to floor area use in retail outlets, it does include other provisions to promote reuse and refill options for consumers.
The Act provides the power to introduce environmental levies on certain single-use disposable items, including single-use cups, containers and packaging, and to prohibit their placing on the market where a suitable re-usable alternative is, or could be made, readily available. These levies will work in a similar way to the plastic bag levy, which has been so successful in tackling plastic bag litter. These new environmental levies will be introduced incrementally, with the initial focus on the introduction of levies on single-use disposable hot drinks cups later this year. The Act also provides that, within 12 months of Section 14(7) being commenced, a report must be prepared by or on behalf of the Minister examining how single-use packaging used in the sale of fruit and vegetables can be reduced. Section 14 of the Act will be commenced in the coming weeks.
The Act also mandates the inclusion of sectoral targets in the Circular Economy Strategy in respect of, inter alia, the retail and packaging sectors. The targets to be set out in respect of a sector must include appropriate targets in respect of reductions in material resource consumption and the use of non-recyclable material; increases in the use of reusable products and materials; increased levels of repair and re-use; or improved maintenance and optimised use of goods, products and materials. The strategy must also set out the actions necessary to meet those targets. I expect to submit the Strategy to Government for approval by the end of this year.
