Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy. This should not be a cost on either the consumer or the State. A regulatory approach is needed so that all businesses are treated in a fair and equal way. We must stop producing packaging that is either non-recyclable or has mixed components as that makes it very difficult to separate it at the waste segregation stage. The waste action plan for a circular economy, more than anything else, places an obligation on the producer not the consumer. That is where we really need to focus and the waste action plan sets out how we will do so. It has a working group that collaborates with industry, consumer groups and NGOs.

Under the plan, there is a move towards looking at the production chain and stopping the use of single-use plastics and non-recyclables in packaging. The timeline is five years. The initiative is backed up by European directives so we are not doing this on our own. I understand the initiative is progressing very successfully with industry buy-in. Retailers and producers have responsibility. The key is to have good regulation. Getting large producers of consumer goods and retailers to make the change should not place a major budgetary requirement on the State. That should be achieved by regulation, not grant or other support and price mechanisms.