Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Question 432: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will allow schools to make use of paper recycling bring centres. [3647/04]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I assume that the question relates to the siting of paper recycling bring facilities on school grounds. Under the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, "class 42" developments relating to the use of land as a bring facility — as outlined in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to the regulations — are exempt from planning permission requirements subject to the following conditions and limitations: no more than five receptacles shall be provided; the capacity of each receptacle shall not exceed 4.5 cubic metres; no such receptacle shall be situated on a public road; and no such receptacle shall be situated within50 m of any house, save with the consent in writing of the owner or occupier thereof. There is no prohibition by the Minister for Education and Science on the siting of bring facilities on school grounds. Such decision is a matter for the management of individual schools.

With regard to the issue of schools being allowed to deposit their paper waste at bring banks not located on school grounds, the position is that bring banks are generally provided for the deposit of specified wastes for recycling from the household sector. The granting of permission to deposit wastes at bring banks to persons other than households is a matter for the operators of the bring banks in question, generally local authorities, and I have no function in this regard.