Trevor Sargent
Ceist:157 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment if, in view of the 1975 EC Waste Directive which encourages waste reduction, he will give details of his Department's progress in the reduction of waste generated.
Written Answers. - Waste Reduction Measures.
Wexford): The relevant objective, as stated in the 1975 Directive on Waste, is for member states to take appropriate steps to encourage the prevention, recycling and processing of waste, the extraction of raw materials and possibly of energy therefrom and other process for the reuse of waste.
An analysis of progress towards this objective in Ireland, together with possible future strategies was set out in my Department's publication of July, 1992“Waste: A Discussion Paper”; a copy of which publication is available in the Oireachtas Library.
More recent specific initiatives taken by my Department in this area include the establishment of a Cleaner Production Centre in University College Cork and the commissioning of a special study to promote greater uptake of clean technologies by Irish industry.
Considerable progress has been made in municipal waste recycling over the past few years. I am confident that the present 8 per cent rate of recycling of household/commercial waste can be substantially increased. As a first step in developing a national recycling strategy, local authorities together with industrial, consumer and environmental interests have been asked for their views on the various issues raised in the recently published recycling study.