Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I substantially agree with the Deputy. Reuse is better than recycling. If we can persuade people to refill plastic bottles with water, that is better than persuading them to bring back the bottles in the first place. For example, the sports clubs, GAA clubs and football clubs informed me that they could have reverse vending machines. They could, but even better than that would be that they encourage children to refill their bottles every day when they are at the club rather than bringing a pallet-full of plastic bottles individually for each person. The answer to these environmental problems does not involve a single bullet. We are doing deposit return machines. I am also sponsoring water fountains all around the country as well.