M J Nolan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I propose to share time with Deputies Fiona O'Malley and Kitt. I listened with interest to the debate last night. It is topical because waste management has become a major global issue in recent years. My role is not to criticise the Green Party. In fact, although it is not popular to do so, I commend it for the work it did in this area. Most mainstream parties now address the idea of saving the environment.

The Government's waste management policies are working. We are changing from a throwaway society and recycling rates are increasing rapidly. It is interesting to read the waste management benchmarking study recently published by Forfás. It makes for interesting reading when one considers the advances made in recent years. When this Government took office in 1997 the recycling rate was 9%. This increased to 34% by 2004 so we are well on the way to meeting the national target of 35% in 2013. We are eight years ahead of schedule, a considerable step forward.

Modern, environmentally safe methods are being introduced for the final disposal of non-recyclable materials. Concerted enforcement seeks to wipe out illegal waste activity. Much progress has been made over the past 18 months. Illegal dumping, where certain sections of society approached householders and illegally dumped their waste, was a concern. The key to the Government's policy is recognition that waste is, literally, a waste of resources that costs us twice. As well as the financial and environmental costs of disposing of it, we lose the value of the materials.

Ireland is becoming a nation that recycles. The role of schools and parents must be recognised. Teenagers are far more conscious of the environment than are middle-aged and older people. Ireland is especially successful on packaging waste, the recovery rate of which is 57%. This exceeds the EU target of 50% by 2005. Commercial premises are obliged to segregate at source and present certain specified waste material for recovery, leading to what is effectively a ban on these materials for landfill.

Carlow County Council has provided resources for a landfill extension but we cannot continue this indefinitely. We must bite the bullet and consider thermal treatment. I have been in favour of it for a long time. As we continue to reduce, reuse and recycle the amount of residual product will be small. Nevertheless, landfills will be necessary.

The majority of householders have separate bin collections for recyclables. Local authorities provide brown bins for kerbside collection of household organic waste. A move to pay per use domestic charges rewards those who recycle more. The vast majority of householders recycle and I am told recycling centres are the new centre for social gossip on Saturday afternoons. They are becoming far busier at weekends, leading to traffic congestion.

The Government published its national strategy on biodegradable waste in April 2006, a document grounded in the integrated waste management approach. It sets out measures by which Ireland will achieve 80% diversion of biodegradable waste, 1.8 million tonnes, from landfill by 2016. For the first time in a national waste management strategy document, targets have been set for waste prevention and minimisation. Recycling through organic treatment is a major component of the plan. We are also developing safe environmentally friendly infrastructure.

Not all waste can be recycled. The most environmentally progressive of our EU partners rely on thermal treatment despite high recycling rates. Of the benchmarked countries in the Forfás report, only New Zealand has no thermal treatment plants. Modern incinerators are subject to the most stringent controls and, as a member of Carlow County Council I visited a number of these plants in operation in France, Germany and Denmark. A number of Irish facilities are at the planning and licensing process. Landfill will be used for residual waste but remains critical until the rest of the infrastructure is in place. We have changed from having many low quality landfills to fewer landfills operating to the highest environmental standards. In the past landfills did not have to be licensed and many farmers used quarries. One could not imagine the type of material contained in these dumps. Greencore has closed down two of its factories over the past two years. From speaking to former workers, I am aware that workers used landfill for hazardous and chemical waste. This will take much money and time to rectify. I commend the Minister for his work in this area.

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