Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 146: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the initiatives he will introduce to significantly improve recycling of paper, glass, metals and plastic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4018/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste is based on the concept of producer responsibility, which effectively requires producers to contribute to the waste management costs of products which they have placed on the market at end of life. Under the directive, Ireland was required to achieve a 25% recovery rate of packaging waste by 1 July 2001, increasing to a 50% recovery rate by 31 December 2005, with a minimum of 25% to be achieved by recycling, including a minimum 15% recycling rate for each type of packaging material. In accordance with this approach, a producer responsibility initiative operates in Ireland in relation to the recovery of packaging waste and is underpinned by the Waste Management (Packaging) Regulations 2003, as amended, which replaced earlier regulations introduced in 1997.

Under the regulations, producers are required to take steps individually to recover their packaging waste, that is, self-compliance or, alternatively, to contribute to and participate in compliance schemes set up to recover packaging waste. Repak Limited was established by Irish industry in 1997 to promote, co-ordinate and finance the collection and recovery of packaging waste with a view to achieving Ireland's packaging waste recovery and recycling targets under Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste and is the only such approved compliance scheme in Ireland. Repak has reported consistent progress since 1997 and in 2001 met the 25% packaging waste recovery target required by the directive.

The 2003 packaging regulations introduced an obligation on all producers involved in the placing of packaging on the Irish market to segregate their specified back-door packaging waste, that is, waste aluminium, fibreboard, glass, paper, plastic sheeting, steel and wood, and have it collected for recycling. It is widely accepted that this measure has contributed to a significant increase in the recycling rates for these materials in the commercial sector.

In light of the progressive roll out of household segregation and separate collection of dry recyclables, over 560,000 households are now served by segregated household collection of recyclables, the continued expansion of the bring bank network, circa 1,700 currently in place, and with an increased network of civic amenity centres and waste transfer stations being progressively put in place, further significant improvements in the domestic household recycling rates are anticipated.

Other measures such as the roll out by local authorities of pay by weight or volume waste charging and the landfill levy will continue to encourage waste prevention and minimisation of waste and its diversion away from landfill. The EPA has reported in its national waste database interim report for 2003, published in December 2004, that packaging waste recovery has increased to an estimated 42% in that year and the latest indications are that Ireland is on course to meet the higher recovery and recycling targets for end 2005.

The 1994 packaging directive has recently been revised by a new amending directive which specifies higher recovery and recycling targets to be achieved by 2011 in the case of Ireland, 2008 for most other member states. The main revisions to the 1994 directive are an increase in the packaging waste recovery target to 60%, the packaging waste recycling target to 55%, with the material specific recycling targets for glass 60%, paper/board 60%, metals 50%, plastics 22.5% and wood 15%. In this regard, my Department is in discussions with Repak with a view to developing an effective strategy which will facilitate the achievement by Ireland of the new higher recovery and recycling targets over the period 2006 to 2011.