Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Senator's call for ambition on this subject. While I will touch on the glass issue in a moment, in an initial statement I am happy to update Members on progress on this matter this morning. Members will be aware that plans for the introduction of a deposit return scheme, DRS, for plastic bottles and aluminium cans were announced in last year’s programme for Government.

A deposit return scheme for plastic bottles and cans involves the application of a refundable deposit to incentivise consumers to return the drinks containers for recycling or reuse. There are a number of reasons we need such a scheme in Ireland but, put simply, too few plastic bottles and cans are currently being captured for recycling and too many are being discarded as litter and this needs to be addressed if we are to meet our existing obligations and achieve our ambition set out in the waste action plan to put Ireland among the top EU waste and circular economy performers.

The single use plastics directive, which will be transposed by July this year, sets a collection target of 90% for plastic bottles by 2029 with an interim target of 77% by 2025. A report prepared by the Eunomia consultancy concluded that a deposit return scheme is considered to be the only feasible way to achieve the required levels of performance under the single use plastics directive. In reaching this conclusion, the study shows that we are currently achieving an estimated 55% separate collection rate for plastic bottles and aluminium beverage cans, leaving us behind the 2025 target and well short of our 2029 target. The directive also requires that plastic beverage bottles contain at least 25% recycled plastic by 2025 and that all plastic beverage bottles contain 30% by 2030. A well-operated and managed deposit return scheme is capable of producing high-quality food grade recyclable material, which can be used by beverage manufacturers to meet these recycling content targets.

The Eunomia report outlines other reasons why we should introduce a deposit return scheme in Ireland, even if we were not facing these EU targets. It estimates that a deposit return scheme could reduce the cost of litter to communities by €95 million. It could also reduce littering of drinks containers by 85% and reduce the tonnage of these containers that are landfilled or incinerated by 88%. The consequent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in a year is valued at €1.83 million, with the annual reduction in other air pollutants valued at €550,000.

Following the commitment in the programme for Government, the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy, launched last September, sets out a clear roadmap for the introduction of the deposit return scheme for plastic bottles and aluminium cans in the third quarter of 2022. This process began with the launch of a public consultation on the design of a deposit return scheme for Ireland last October. I was heartened by the level of public engagement in this first part of the process, with the vast majority of the 364 submissions received in favour of the introduction of the scheme. It is clear that the public is very much behind the introduction of this scheme.

Officials are currently engaged in the next steps of the process. Bilateral discussions with a range of stakeholders have taken place and a stakeholder working group, consisting of beverage producers, retailers, environmental non-governmental organisations and waste collectors has been established to progress the design of the system. Colleagues from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland have sat in on the working group discussions as observers.

Based on the work being carried out by this group, a second public consultation will be launched later this month. This will seek views on the preferred model of a scheme and invite submissions on the legislative parameters required for its introduction. Ireland has a well-established track record in using the extended producer responsibility model for dealing with various waste streams, including plastics and packaging, electrical appliances and batteries. This model is based on the polluter pays principle and I have stipulated that the deposit return scheme must similarly be producer-led and operated on a not-for-profit basis.The legislative basis for the delivery of a DRS will be provided through the transposition of the single use plastics directive. This will be done by the deadline of 3 July this year.

The DRS will complement other measures that we will be introducing under this directive in order to deal with a wide range of single use plastic, SUP, items, including the banning of SUP items such as straws, cutlery, plates, cotton bud sticks and balloon sticks. The Minister will also be introducing measures to significantly cut down on the number of SUP cups and food containers we use. These measures will include the introduction of levies, legislating to prohibit their unnecessary use and trialling the elimination of coffee cups entirely in selected towns with a view to eventually banning them at a national level. I will pick up the glass issue in my next contribution.