Margaret Cox (Fianna Fail)

A municipal waste incinerator will emit dioxins. If we do not have a municipal waste incinerator, these dioxins will not be emitted. I am not saying dioxins will not be emitted by other methods of waste disposal but why introduce a technology into a country which is clean and green and which has not had this type of technology heretofore? Why introduce this technology when we can simply wait a number of years to ascertain whether we actually need it? The people in Galway have taken recycling to their hearts and have, against all the odds, been able to show the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government a success story that over 57% of waste in Galway is recycled.

We talk about the waste pyramid, reuse, recycling and reduction. In regard to reduction, there is the wonderful example of the plastic bag levy introduced by the Minister's Department and the former Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey. People thought it was mad and would not work but Ireland is held up throughout Europe as an example of how one can actually do something successfully. It has been a most successful initiative. If we use our imagination, determination and the goodwill of the people, we can introduce other initiatives to reduce waste.

The Minister might consider the following example. When people go shopping in supermarkets, they buy many different products which are wrapped in cardboard boxes and plastic bags. One of my pet hates is that when one buys dishwasher tablets or tablets for the washing machine, they come individually wrapped in non-recyclable material and in a box which is generally wrapped in plastic. We should put a tax on such products because there is no need for those tablets to be individually wrapped. One manufacturer, from whom I try to buy, does not wrap these tablets, so it has reduced the amount of wrapping.

Toothpaste comes with wrapping around the top of it, so is there a need for it to come in a box with a plastic cover? Is there a need for all the extra wrapping on cereals? Should we say to manufacturers who want to sell their products in Ireland that they have a responsibility? We say to the manufacturers of fridges and computers that they must in-build recycling into their products as it is part of the EU directive. Why do we not say to the producers of everyday products to cut out the excess packaging? Why do we not put a tax on such products to act as a disincentive? Why do we not give manufacturers a year to look at their packaging to see what they can reduce and say that if they can do so satisfactorily, we will not have to introduce a tax?

The people have welcomed the concept of waste recycling, reuse and composting with open arms — we only have to see the green flags around towns, cities and in schools. Schools educate children who now understand the concept of recycling. Children take rubbish home from school and place it in recycling bags, or they certainly do in my house. We wash out yoghurt cartons, Coke bottles and plastic and recycle them; they do not go to landfill.

Without getting into the emotive arguments on incineration as a method of waste disposal, I plead with the Minister to look at the bigger picture, to see how successful we have been in trying to reduce the amount of waste and to say perhaps we do not need incinerators in Connacht, Ulster, Munster, Leinster or one large municipal incinerator in the centre of the country, to which waste will be transported. It is not fair to inflict that on any community.

Perhaps we can find other ways to achieve the targets set out in the EU directive while at the same time ensuring that we do not introduce a technology most people would prefer not to see. We have a chance to prove ourselves as we have done with the plastic bag levy and with recycling. As a nation, we will be delighted to take the opportunity to prove that those who think we cannot do it are wrong.