Mr. Liam Moloney:

It dates back to the 1990s. As the Deputy is probably aware, farmers in Ireland then were increasingly switching from making hay and pit silage to bale silage. They were making that switch because it had become much easier and much more cost-effective to make bale silage. What then happened is we saw the generation of a new waste stream, which was a problem for farmers. Even for farmers who wanted to do right thing, it was very difficult for them to responsibly dispose of this waste stream. The main stakeholders in the sector came together to try to find a solution. These were manufacturers of farm plastic products, the IFA representing farmers and the Department with responsibility for the environment. It was felt that farm plastics regulations should be the solution. Those regulations oblige companies that place certain farm plastic products on the market to contribute to recycling costs. They can do so by joining our scheme or they can self-comply and take the waste back from their customers. Nobody is self-complying at present.

The farm plastics regulations put the obligation on producers. They also allow for the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to license the recycling compliance scheme. The IFFPG became one of the first recycling compliance schemes in Ireland in 1998 when we were licensed. The main objectives of our scheme are to provide cost-effective compliance to our producer members, to provide a comprehensive and reliable collection service to farmers throughout to country, and to exceed the national recycling target. Obviously, the overall objective is to keep our rural environment clean and support circular economy objectives.