Mr. Tony Breton:

The EPA's latest report stated that Ireland produces 1 million tonnes of food waste a year. A lot of the discussion is about grass but biowaste has a relevant role to play. Regarding where the best practice is, with co-mingled food and garden waste collection in a brown bin, the best place to look is in places like the Netherlands, Austria and Germany, where they are reconfiguring their existing infrastructure, keeping the jobs that are there and putting dry AD plants in. There is a difference between dry and wet. Basically, if it is pumpable it is a wet AD and if it is shovellable it is a dry AD. However, both types still produce biogas. There is a myth that you cannot get gas from solids and garden waste but you can. If the committee is looking for the best practice, it should look to the Continent and places like the Netherlands. Even Italy has a combination of food and garden waste compost.