Ms Mindy O'Brien:

There is a lot there. If we could do all retailers with reuse-refill, that would be fabulous. I would be on board with that. PFAS are forever chemicals. The Deputy might have seen a film called "Dark Waters" with Mark Ruffalo. The PFAS which is used for Teflon pans or Gore-Tex is used to create a waterproof or oilproof barrier so they do not break down and they bioaccumulate. They are tied to liver damage, cardiovascular endocrine and immune system damage, cause decreased fertility and lower birth rate. Not only are you eating it but if it goes to a composting facility, it goes into the compost and then onto land and into plants. There is a lot of PFAS in drinking water too. It is everywhere. We need to try and reduce it as much as we can. There is no reason to use it in packaging and they have found they can take it out. PFAS is something that I found out about around ten months ago. It is like whack-a-mole trying to figure out what they are doing next.

We have been pushing for a DRS system for bottles and cans for years. Originally, we were looking for glass to be included as well but our glass recycling rate is probably around 87% or 88% so we are actually doing quite well. We are pushing for regulations which have not been signed yet. I have been told they will be signed next week and will be up and running by the end of next year. We are pushing for the reuse element. I would rather have reuse for glass bottles and reuse for plastic bottles than recycling. We are already doing okay with glass but if we could do more reuse, and identify where we can do more reuse for containers. I was in Louth a couple of days ago at Holy Milk, run by the Byrne family. They sell reusable milk bottles. They have a vending machine and you buy the bottle for €3.50 or bring your own and then the milk is €1.15 and is right from the cow. There is another one in Meath. So there is a vending machine for milk and we can reuse bottles for sparking water and water as well.

I think polystyrene packaging is terrible. I would love to get rid of it. A colleague, Karin Dubsky, who has been in this area for ages, has been trying to get this out of fish boxes because it breaks into tiny balls and goes everywhere. If we could get rid of it, including in the fishing gear, that would be wonderful. There is a type of mushroom that can be used for padding for those goods. Smurfit has been working on paper packaging that gives the protection. I think you could use paper and mushrooms as an alternative to polystyrene.