Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The latest report on waste statistics for 2021 from the EPA showed a concerning trend. To be honest, many people were disappointed because, as the Senator said, we would have assumed we were the best in class for packaging recycling because we were for a long time. The concerning trend showed that recycling rates did not keep pace with increasing levels of waste generation.

Before I read the script, which I am delivering on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Ryan, who, as the Senator will know, is at COP28, I must say that all my three children were members of the green schools reduce, reuse, recycle campaign when it started 25 years ago. The schools are the correct place to start as they do a fantastic job. From that perspective, that is why so many were disappointed when they saw those statistics last week.

The report shows that to meet our ambitious 2025 recycling targets for municipal waste, packaging waste and plastic packaging waste, we must prioritise recycling over energy recovery and landfill. The Government is taking a range of new actions to incentivise people and businesses to first reduce and then recycle their waste, such as allowing soft plastics in the household recycling bin and bringing in mandatory segregation for commercial waste. Notwithstanding this, we all need to redouble our efforts to tackle excessive production and consumption. As we are now heading into Christmas, we are all very conscious of the amount of waste packaging that will be produced as a result.

The plain fact is that the relentless production of packaging is swamping the gains we are making in recycling volumes. Across the board, the Government’s policy is to move towards a circular economy where things are reused or recycled as much as possible and where the generation of waste is minimised. However, achieving the full benefits of the circular economy needs more than action at the individual level. It needs the right mix of Government policy, new business models and new systems of production. We are working hard to implement these.

As the Senator will know, here at home, there have been key Government actions to reduce ways to boost recycling. Soft plastics can now be put in the household recycling bin, the segregation of commercial waste is now mandatory, packaging fees are being adjusted to reward better design for recycling, self-compliance is ending for packaging producers, a levy on waste recovery has been introduced along with a higher landfill levy to boost recycling, and there are a host of measures to reduce single-use plastics using levies and producer responsibility mechanisms.

Legislation will be introduced by the end of the year to ensure every household has access to a bio-waste brown bin collection service.I did not realise that not everyone had access to one. Where I live in County Waterford, we have had them many years. A new deposit return scheme, DRS, will begin in February 2024 for plastic bottles and aluminium cans. That will be a complete change of use for many people and it is very positive.

Policy and legislative measures introduced by the Government in recent years to incentivise people to reduce and recycle waste include the waste action plan for a circular economy, containing more than 200 measures; the circular economy strategy, which sets a course for Ireland to transition to a circular economy; the national food waste prevention roadmap; and the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022.

Ireland is not alone in facing these challenges. The European Commission has initiated negotiations on a new packaging waste regulation that proposes new packaging waste generation targets for the first time.

In Ireland, with the exception of one or two municipal districts, local authorities have all but exited the household waste collection market. In most cases, they could not compete with the prices charged by private entrants. The obligation on local authorities to collect household waste is set out in the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended, and, in summary, provides that each local authority shall collect or arrange for collection.

I was struck by what the Senator said and I will speak about illegal dumping in the next part. It is the scourge of all our communities.