Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 September 2023
155. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the universally accepted methods for the disposal of plastics including recycling and the ongoing need to ensure that the public have sufficient ways and means of contributing to reduction in use, disposal and reuse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42076/23]
View answerWaste management methods, including for plastic, are set out in the waste hierarchy, which ranks methods according to their impact on the environment, in the following order:
1. Prevention
2. Re-use
3. Recycling
4. Recovery
5. Disposal
While Ireland is currently meeting its recycling target for plastic packaging, national waste statistics published recently by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show that less than a third (28%) of plastic packaging is being recycled and that many recyclable plastic items are still being put in the general waste bin, which means they end up being incinerated. This represents a loss of recyclable material and an unnecessarily high cost for households and businesses, whose waste charges could be lowered through proper segregation.
A number of measures are in place to improve segregation and increase recycling rates for all packaging, including plastic:
• In July this year, I introduced mandatory segregation and incentivised charging for commercial waste,
• From 1 September, I introduced a new waste recovery levy and an increase to the existing landfill levy to encourage people to reduce their waste collection costs by improving their waste segregation practices, and
• From 1 February, 2023, a Deposit Return Scheme will go live. The scheme will increase the quantity and quality of plastic beverage bottles being recycled through a separate collection system.
Recycling is only part of the solution. The EPA’s data also shows that the generation of plastic packaging waste is increasing and we need to reverse this trend if we are to meet our ambitious EU targets for 2025 and 2030. Ireland is not alone in facing this challenge. The European Commission has proposed a new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation which aims to reduce the generation of packaging waste, promote cost-effective circular solutions for packaging and promote the uptake of recycled content in packaging. The headline ambition is, by 2040 to reduce packaging by 15% over 2018 figures.
