Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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We have taken a number of initiatives on the sorting of waste. Over the course of the past year we agreed a uniform standard in the use of the green and blue bins. Across the country there is now a standard list of what can be put in a recycling bin. It took a considerable amount of work and we ran an initiative in that regard towards the back end of last year. We also ran through the Environmental Protection Agency a significant number of campaigns to encourage people to use the brown bin. The single biggest challenge we have is getting people to use that brown. We are rolling it out in more areas, initially in communities with a population of 500 or more. It was available in place in areas with a population of 1,500 people or more, but the figure has been reduced to 500. Ultimately, every home in the country that wants a brown bin will have access to one.