Pat Moylan (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, to the House and wish the Minister, Deputy Cullen, well.

The statements today on waste management are important. I have listened to the many excellent contributions made. During the summer I was disturbed to read an article on waste which stated that County Offaly produced the second highest amount of rubbish in the country. This makes one ask what we are doing and why are we worse than others. The Environmental Protection Agency's national waste database report makes for disturbing reading. Government strategy is to make tough decisions for more recycling and less waste. Ireland is in the midst of a grave waste problem. The challenge of solving the waste problem is not easy and we do not have the luxury of time. Tough decisions have to be made.

Waste has become a defining characteristic of our modern consumer society. The generation of waste in Ireland continues to increase, reflecting economic growth, improved manufacturing and industrial performance, increased population and changing consumption patterns. In excess of 2.2 million tonnes of municipal waste was generated in 2000, an increase of approximately 20% in two years. The average Irish individual generates approximately 580 kg of municipal waste per annum, far in excess of our EU neighbours. We are poorly equipped to deal effectively with this waste stream. We have a limited recycling infrastructure, almost no biological treatment capability and no means of recovering energy from waste.

Although the amount of waste recycled has increased in recent years, we recycled only 12% of waste in 2000. Given that Holland recycles 45% and Germany recycles 42%, Ireland has a long way to go. The remaining 88% of our waste was landfill, often in small, inadequate facilities. We do not know exactly what is happening underground in many of our landfill sites. This situation cannot continue and the modernisation of waste management is now a key priority. In my county, Offaly, only 10% of the population currently recycle waste compared to the European average of 80%. The two main excuses for not recycling are that people have neither the time nor the space to recycle.