Ms Mindy O'Brien:

I thank the Deputy. In terms of targets, if we just say we want a 3% reuse target and do not say, "You have to do that", or "This is how you do it", it will be the tragedy of the commons as no one will do it or take responsibility. What I could see is that in different sectors, for instance, hospitality, all restaurants that offer in-house dining must have reusable options 75% of the time or a takeaway service must have 50% reusable containers by 2030.

We need to have a target per sector and maybe ramp it up over a period of years, such as having a 50% target for fruit and vegetables package-free and 50% of cosmetics. We may want to be that detailed because if we are not, we are going to have free riders, and if no one has to take responsibility, then no one will. That is the one concern I have.

In terms of contamination, in 2017 we did the recycling ambassadors programme, where we launched the first recycling list. We had 30 ambassadors throughout the country and it was funded by the Department. We ran 700 recycling workshops throughout the country and reached 25,000 people face to face. Everyone said it was fantastic. They thanked us and said it really explains things and takes the mystery out of what goes into what bin. We could do something similar again but, for me, contamination is not only food, it is also putting the wrong material in the wrong bin. That also goes back to the producers in that they need to simplify their packaging. There are laminates which have multilayers, and even the punnets for products like tomatoes have plastic which looks like polyethylene terephthalate, PET, but it actually has two or three layers and might have PET, then polypropylene or something else between it, which might be cheaper. We need to simplify the packaging to make it easier.

I know many people look at the waste industry and blame it for not being able to recycle. In fact, it is the producers who are putting this there and the waste industry is trying to figure out what to do with it. Not only is it the contamination of food but the wrong material is going in there.

In terms of cost, I agree with the Deputy. I referred to prepackaged goods. I sent my husband out to get some carrots and told him to just buy a few carrots. He came back with a 2 kg bag and he said, “Don't blame me, this is the only thing I could buy.”