Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. Single-use plastics represent one of our biggest environmental challenges and their rapid increase in production has overwhelmed our world's ability to recognise the problem. The price we now pay for whatever small convenience single-use plastics provided to us by the food sector has led to a throwaway culture where we now see plastic everywhere, on our streets and in our rivers and seas. Single-use plastics account for nearly half of all the plastic we produce every year and many of these items originate in our coffee shops and convenience stores. They include water bottles, straws, cups and utensils which have a lifespan of just hours, or even minutes, but they continue to exist for hundreds of years afterwards. Much of this is unnecessary and there already are better alternatives available at a similar cost. This does not just affect urban areas like my own. Anyone who walks even the smallest rural boreen will see ditches full of plastic waste around the country.

I very much appreciate how A Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy represents a step change in our approach to waste in Ireland and moving to minimise the amount of waste generated but the food sector in particular and plastic producers themselves must be held responsible for the products and packaging they create. Recycling alone will never solve this problem and the sector must undergo a fundamental shift in how it brings its products to people.

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