Vol. 488 No. 4
58 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the arrangements, if any, in place in his Department and in any State agency or body under his control to encourage or enforce the reuse or recycling of paper and, in particular, of envelopes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6166/98]
The Department of Foreign Affairs makes reusable internal circulation envelopes available and encourages all officials to use these for distributing internal mail. The vast majority of envelopes used by the Department contain between 70 and 85 per cent recycled pulp depending on the particular envelope. A substantial quantity of the Department's waste paper is converted to pulp and recycled.
The bodies under the aegis of the Department are the Agency for Personal Service Overseas (APSO), the Refugee Agency, the National Committee for Development Education (NCDE) and the Irish Aid Advisory Committee (IAAC). These bodies actively encourage staff to recycle paper products where possible and to be economical in the use of stationery.
The Department is committed, wherever practicable, to increasing the use of recycled paper and is currently testing the latter on its range of office equipment.
