Results 41-60 of 2,867 for speaker:Ossian Smyth
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: My assessment from talking to farmers about the scheme is they are generally happy with it and feel it is providing value for money. I feel the IFA is happy with the scheme as well. From the point of view of most of the plastics collected-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: The issue faced by the scheme and the whole market is the change in the cost of recycling. There was a time this product had a value. It could be sold into the Chinese market and they would use it for something. The value of farm plastic reduced to the point where people had to pay to have it reprocessed. The economics of the scheme have changed and that means more money has to come into...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: I think the Senator is asking about the product awaiting recycling. It has been collected by a contractor, is in a yard and has not yet gone to a processing facility. We do not keep a tally of that. We know each waste collector has a waste collection permit and is allowed to store only a certain quantity of material by that permit. From the information we have, all the yards are now in...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: It is important the material is not allowed to build up and does get sent for recycling. Part of the oversight of the body is to make sure it is sending product to recycling centres. I understand nearly half of the product is recycled within Ireland and the rest is exported for recycling. The management of recycling waste is monitored and enforced by local authorities. There are strict...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: I am told the mid-term review is in process.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: The information I have is the mid-term review is under way. The Deputy has said a mid-term review was completed in quarter 1 of 2023. I am not aware of that and my official tells me she is not aware of it. If the Deputy has information on that, I will go back and chase it down.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: There is a body that monitors waste exports.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: The estimate I have for this year is 3,500 tonnes of farm plastic are being exported per month. That is more than 40,000 tonnes for the year.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: For the latest year I have, 2022, it was 55% of material being exported and 45% was kept within the country.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: Farm plastic, yes.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: I will come back to the Deputy with detail on the classification of waste that has been exported in different years.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: Sorry, is the Deputy referring to a particular company that reuses farm plastics for wax for candles?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: There is a range of grant schemes. Typically, this type of farm plastic is used for plastic garden furniture, plastic poles and pots and so on.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: The Deputy asked about a company that was receiving a grant for making-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: I do not know which grant scheme this was. Many companies have been funded through a number of schemes. There is a scheme run by the EPA. There is a scheme called the circular economy innovation scheme. These schemes provide grants to companies to try to find innovative ways to use products that would otherwise end up as waste. These grants can be in the tens of thousands, or sometimes...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: Those companies are enforced by the local authorities and the WERLAs. Is the Deputy asking me why-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: I do not know where that estimate comes from. The waste collection companies are entitled to store waste according to whatever is permitted in their contracts.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: I understand there is a vote in the Dáil so I ask to be excused.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: Chair, my calendar states that the meeting is scheduled from 5.30 p.m. to 7 p.m. I have other appointments this evening that I need to attend. I can stay here until 7.30 p.m., but I was not aware that I was expected to be here until 8.30 p.m.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Recycling Farm Plastics: Discussion (Resumed) (15 May 2024)
Ossian Smyth: Yes.