Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 May 2017
600. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the extent to which reliance on landfill waste disposal facilities continues to be monitored with particular reference to the utilisation of best practice in terms of reduce, reuse and recycle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22162/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraGovernment waste management policy is predicated on the waste hierarchy, i.e., to prevent the generation of waste in the first instance and then to divert waste which cannot be prevented away from landfill through preparing for re-use, recycling and other recovery. There are numerous measures under the policy to give effect to minimising the amount of waste consigned to landfill.
The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) is charged with reporting data on waste management, which includes reporting the amount of waste consigned to landfill. A wide range of waste statistics is available on the EPA website (http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/waste/stats/), including information on our performance against targets under the Landfill Directive and other European legislation.
In addition, annual reports on the implementation of the three Regional Waste Management Plans (2015 to 2021) are available on the respective Regional Waste Management Planning Office websites. The plans contain targets which cover the areas of prevention, recycling and landfilling. The relevant websites may be accessed at http://www.epa.ie/waste/policy/regional/
Notwithstanding the substantial progress made in terms of reducing our reliance on landfill from 95% in 1995 to 41% in 2012, I am aware that in 2016 there was insufficient capacity to dispose of residual waste and emergency powers were invoked by the regulatory authorities to make additional landfill capacity available. My Department is working with the three Regional Waste Management Planning Offices and other regulatory bodies to ensure such emergency measures are not required going forward. This will be especially important in terms implementing Government waste, renewable energy and jobs policies and in meeting current and future targets under EU legislation.
