Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle. For those who may not know, I live in Cashel, County Tipperary, a town with an amazing heritage, location and people. I was involved in a zero-waste pilot programme from 2017 until July 2018. Its aim was to reduce waste by 25% through a number of different initiatives involving the community. It had a particular focus on ending the bad habit of using single-use products when alternatives could be found or, indeed, having those products repaired or recycled to become of use again. This ranged from waste reduction workshops for repair and reuse of products, up-cycling, and so on. There was very significant interest and buy-in from the local community and it very much showed us what could be done if we all adopt measures which promote sustainability. There is a public appetite for this, especially given the money-saving nature of it which cannot be overstated.

This is particularly relevant to what we are talking about today which is adopting measures to develop the so-called circular economy, involving a move away from single-use disposable items, and advocating a more sustainable way of manufacturing and consumption. This can be done through manufacturers adopting production methods that not only ensure they cut down on non-biodegradable packaging, such as plastics, but also ensure the product itself, if non-perishable, can be repaired if worn or broken and reused.

We need to throw off the mindset of single-use items and that is why there is a need for the inclusion in this Bill of measures to deal with single-use cups and containers. When talking about this, we must point out that the raw material resources which we use per year are already 50% greater than nature can replenish in a year. This will rise by a factor of three by 2050 on present trends. This is the definition of unsustainable and is where the circular the economy needs to be reinforced by investment in alternatives.

We also need to ensure the methods adopted to deal with the scourge of littering are realistic. Using technology to monitoring dumping is one thing but it means nothing if that technology is not used when dumping is proven to have taken place.

We cannot confine this type of monitoring to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. working hours. If we do not target it at the time when people are proven to dump rubbish, not only will we waste money and resources we will also do the campaign against littering a disservice by throwing it into disrepute and making it appear to be another waste of public money that is not able to target the scourge of dumping properly. If we really mean what we say, we cannot do it without the system having real teeth in terms of being able to tackle dumping effectively.

We support this Bill and will bring forward amendments on Committee Stage where we consider it fit.

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