Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 September 2018
213. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the amount and proportion of plastic waste generated that is sold or diverted to incineration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38933/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra215. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if recyclable plastics that are coloured black are actually recycled here; if not, the steps he is taking to address this issue, inform the public regarding same and to prevent such material from entering the waste stream; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38935/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 213 and 215 together.
National waste policy is predicated on and consistent with European Union waste policy, which has the waste hierarchy as its cornerstone. Under the waste hierarchy, the prevention, preparation for reuse, recycling and recovery of waste is preferred to the disposal or landfill of waste.
Every effort is made to ensure that waste which cannot be prevented, prepared for reuse or recycled is recovered (including through waste to energy) as opposed to being landfilled.
In line with the principles of the waste hierarchy, collectors of municipal waste must implement and maintain a system for the collection of segregated dry recyclables, including plastic which is suitable for recycling. Where waste has been source segregated prior to collection, the collection permit further requires that the waste shall not be mixed with other waste types and shall be delivered to a suitable authorised facility. In this regard, the two waste to energy plants operating in Ireland which accept municipal waste may only accept residual municipal waste. However, contaminated recyclable plastic and plastic which is not currently suitable for recycling in Ireland and which ends up in the recycling bin are removed at Material Recovery Facilities and sent for energy recovery or landfill, as appropriate.
To supplement the above regulatory regime, the Government has funded a range of measures to support better recycling so that more plastic which is suitable for recycling is diverted from the residual bin, waste to energy plants and landfill, including:
- the development a national standardised list of items that can go into the recycling bin, including rigid plastic items, which is available at http://recyclinglistireland.ie/;
- a public education campaign on the recycling list rolled out by the regional waste management authorities, comprising radio advertisements, social media, billboards/posters, etc., to promote the list; and,
- a ‘master recycling’ programme, also run by the regional waste management authorities, in partnership with environmental NGOs, to roll out 650 workshops across the country training recycling ambassadors to bring the recycling message and understanding to a wide variety of communities.
The list stipulates that rigid plastics, such as plastic drink bottles, plastic cleaning bottles or fruit and vegetable trays, regardless of their colour, may be placed in the recycling bin.
A new national municipal waste characterisation study which commenced in December 2016 will be completed shortly. Results from this study could inform future estimates on the amount of plastic in municipal waste which is going to waste to energy plants.
