James Bannon (Fine Gael)

Hopefully, he will come at some future date and debate the whole issue with us. Today the environment occupies a central position in our awareness. The reason is simple: the quality of our life is now threatened by developments which humans have started, but cannot control. In the worst case, the result could be that we no longer have the opportunity to improve the quality of life by our own means. When consumption goes up, more waste is produced. This waste mountain began to grow faster with the invention of plastic and the proliferation of new chemicals and metal alloy products.

Other factors were the mass manufacturing of goods with built in obsolescence. The use of packaging leaped ahead with the development of refrigeration and rapid transport systems, which meant that more goods and foodstuffs could be packaged and sent all over the world, instead of being produced and sold locally. The boom in disposable consumer goods such as razors, pens, cameras, nappies, etc. added another twist to humanity's tale of waste. Our country is now choking on waste. The same could be said of other parts of the world, but Europe is ahead of us with regard to tackling the waste problem.

In terms of materials usage, the industrial society squanders natural resources and creates huge amounts of waste. As more and more countries embrace consumerism, there is growing support for a radical change of approach to materials usage and waste management. The goal of sustainable society is not helped by disposable one-time use products and consumer goods which are cheaper to replace than repair. This is an area that on many occasions I have said should be looked at by the drivers of waste directives in the European Commission. Concerned politicians place production methods that generate less harmful waste on top of their wish list, particularly at election time. To make the most of the waste materials at hand, recycling should be given the highest priority in our environmental policy. At this stage it is up to the Minister of State and the Government to find markets for the materials collected for recycling by local authorities.

The objective should be to recycle as much waste as possible. The evidence from other countries that I have visited is that sorting at source results in a higher degree of recycling and ensures that non-recyclable waste is handled in an environment-friendly way. At any recycling station, the most important thing is that the waste is properly sorted. The containers at the station are clearly marked to identify what kind of waste goes into each. It is important to have staff at recycling stations to give information and guidance if there is any doubt as to what goes where.