John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I have seen the newspaper report which appears to be the basis for this question. The report makes it clear that the data includes the landfilling of unsegregated municipal waste which cannot be recycled.

The most recent national waste report, published by the Environmental Protection Agency states that the recovery rate for municipal waste in 2005 was 34.6%. This was almost four times the equivalent figure for 1998, which was 9%. The recent media reports appear to suggest that waste management companies have reported even higher diversion rates to the EPA in respect of 2006 although this information is subject to analysis by the agency prior to publication. The national waste report 2006 will be published in early 2008 by the EPA. The ever-increasing recovery rates being reported by the agency would indicate that municipal waste presented for segregated collection by businesses and householders or collected through civic amenity sites is indeed being diverted from landfill.

I fully recognise that despite the improved national recycling performance we need to continue to improve our performance. The programme for Government commits us to establishing new ambitious waste management targets for maximum prevention, reuse and recycling with a view to ensuring that we match the best performance in the EU with the objective that only 10% or less is consigned to landfill as opposed to the current rate of 66%. The programme also provides for a comprehensive review of waste management planning which I have directed my Department to initiate. This review will ensure that our waste management plans reflect best international practice and that we have the policies and infrastructure to meet ambitious environmental objectives.

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