Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

There are certain things about which we are in agreement. We want to stop putting material into landfill. That is something we agree with but we do not think that is sufficient. We need to go further, particularly in the promotion of recycling and reusing and creating a new circular economy that can create jobs as well as improving our environment. Our amendments today are geared towards steering the country in that direction and we look for support from other parties, which I have heard today say they want to push recycling. We need to do something about it. While I welcome some of the measures in other amendments, such as a national regulator looking at price gouging, we need to go further than that and strengthen the role of local government in this area, giving it back real control over how waste collection is done rather than letting the market decide as though it is a consumer product, as the Government seems to imply. It is not.

More than anything else I hope this might be an opportunity for us to seek a common purpose with any and all parties in supporting the waste reduction Bill that we introduced in this House some weeks ago. It is very simple and it was supported by a letter last week from 17 of the leading environmental organisations, including bodies like VOICE Ireland, which has done much work in this area of thinking about how to reduce waste.

There are mechanisms to cut waste at source through regulation by stipulating there cannot be a wasteful plastic and paper cup but rather it should be compostable. It would keep something out of the black bin and it would cost nothing; it would save people money. Similarly, giving money back for a bottle would save 2.5 billion plastic bottles per year going to landfill, according to VOICE Ireland. If we can get them out of the system, it is a way to start protecting against landfill use. It is a win-win scenario for the householder, who would be getting money back. Everybody would be buying into what would be a step in the right direction in the management of recycling.

Whatever about this debate and the way the vote goes, I hope this emphasis on the waste recycling and management system might see cross-party support, with parties willing to sign up to pieces of legislation and put them through the Dáil so we can demonstrate to householders that we are not just charging them but looking to give back money. We must show that we are cutting out waste at source, which is the best way to go in this area.

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