Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I can give the Deputy an update that is literally hot off the press. I intend to introduce an incentivised pricing structure that will provide the flexibility for customers to be offered a suite of pricing options to encourage householders to reduce and segregate their waste.  This approach is in line with the Government's policy as articulated in a 2012 policy document, A Resource Opportunity - Waste Management Policy in Ireland. A specific measure in the policy provides that the household waste collection sector will "operate pricing structures designed to incentivise environmentally sustainable behaviours by households in terms of waste reduction and segregation".

Incentivised pricing should encourage us, as a community, to prevent and reduce the amount of waste we produce and to utilise the value of our waste through reuse, recycling and recovery. This will also enable Ireland to meet its legal obligations as well as current and future targets under EU waste legislation.

The amount of waste being sent to landfill has increased in the past two years. Last year, local authorities had to exercise emergency powers on two occasions to make additional landfill capacity available. Had it not been made available, we could not have allowed the collection of waste in this country. We must act to encourage further waste reduction to avert a return to an over-dependence on landfill. The introduction of an incentivised pricing structure for household waste collection will be an important measure in this regard.

If we do nothing about the amount of material going into landfill, within the next three years there will be an 18% shortfall in landfill capacity, effectively meaning we will have no landfill capacity for two months of the year. There are a couple of solutions. One is that we expand the existing four landfills. We had 24 in 2011 but are down to four at the moment and I do not think any colleague from the vicinity of these landfills would want that to happen. The other option is to open up new landfills, and I am willing to listen to any suggestions from Members if they have a proposed site for a new landfill. Finally, we can reduce the amount of material going into landfill and this is my preference.

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