Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would not say that I am disappointed with the Minister's response, I am angry. I expected more from him. Climate and the environment is one of the defining issues facing human kind over the coming period. As the IPCC noted, it is something that Governments will have to be responsible for. I support the Green Party waste management Bill as it is a no-brainer, it has to be done.

The documentary "Drowning in Plastic" exposes the global consequences of plastic, focusing on marine plastic and its movement into the food chain. In it, the presenter, Liz Bonnin asks if we can turn the tide before it is too late. She observes the devastating effects of plastic debris in different parts of the world, from the USA to Indonesia. She reminds us that every minute consumers buy 1 million plastic bottles, 1 million disposable cups and 2 million plastic bags, because we do not have choices as individuals, that is what is on offer to us. Every minute, plastic finds its way into our rivers and seas which results in over 8 million tonnes going into the marine environment. That is the evidence which is stacked up, the evidence of what we as humans will face in time. Ms Bonnin looks at a number of species during the programme. I do not know if the Minister has seen it. It opens with the flesh-footed shearwater birds. We see birds vomiting whole pieces of plastic, including bottle caps, after the parents have mistaken debris for food and fed it to their chicks. This causes malfunctions in the reproductive system and their ability to fly and ultimately leads to malnourishment and death. That is equal to 10 kg of plastic in a human's stomach. That is what some animals face today. With other sea life also mistaking plastic bags for jellyfish and microplastics for fish eggs or algae, plastic is becoming a deadly part of the food chain. Ms Bonnin also notes the recent scientific discovery that plastic is the perfect carrier for deadly bacteria that causes cholera in humans. Meanwhile 300,000 marine mammals and more than 400,000 sea birds are killed annually after being entangled by fishing nets, something that has brought the North-Atlantic right whale particularly close to extinction, while for fishermen, depending on low-cost methods in order to make a living, plastic often seems like their only option for durable fishing rope.

However, even if people want to change their attitude towards waste, it is not always easy. An estimated 2 million people worldwide do not have access to proper waste management and can only throw their rubbish on their doorstep or in nearby waterways. Who is to blame for this? Is it the local authorities who do not provide facilities for waste disposals or the big corporations which sell heavily packaged small quantities of modern essentials such as shampoo and toothpaste to countries which are unable to dispose of them sustainably? I blame big corporations.

I agree that individuals cannot solve this issue but I support the part of the Bill that provides for a deposit return scheme. That is something we can do. However, the key is to ban single-use non-recyclable, non-compostable plastic tableware and so on. Industry and corporations must be challenged to introduce alternatives to plastic. Are we protecting Repak? Coca Cola pay into Repak, and having paid their blood money continue to bring out cans and material that cannot be recycled. I call on the Government to introduce the money message and acknowledge Friends of the Earth, Voice Ireland and Uplift which has run a campaign and secured a large number of signatures to petition this Government.

See this speech in context