Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 169: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the total weight of waste that his Department produces within its own offices in the last year for which figures are available; the breakdown of the weight produced by paper, glass, aluminium and steel cans, textiles, plastics, organic waste, electrical and electronic equipment, batteries, hazardous waste and mixed waste respectively; the percentage of weight in each category which is recycled; and the details of any contracts his Department has for this disposal, reduction or re-use of waste. [5433/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In accordance with its environmental policy statement, my Department is fully committed to the effective management of waste including prevention, reduction and recycling. This is a critical element of our ongoing accreditation to ISO 14001:1996 which we achieved for our headquarters offices in 2003. We are working towards achieving this certification for all our offices and in the meantime a number of objectives guide our waste management activities across the Department including to reduce the quantity of consumable resources used by the Department, to identify, maintain and improve recycling schemes for waste materials and to ensure that non-recyclable waste arising on site is disposed of as safely as possible.

A contract is in place for the collection and recycling of paper and cardboard packaging from my Department's main offices. The Department also engages, as required, the services of contractors, who specialise in recycling electrical and electronic equipment. Arrangements are in place in my Department's headquarters under which cans and plastic are collected and recycled by Dublin City Council. There are also arrangements in place for recycling glass and for the safe disposal of batteries. I am having similar arrangements put in place in other offices of my Department. The detailed information sought about the weight of various categories of waste produced by my Department is not available.

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 170: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that older electrical transformers may contain dioxins; and the measures which have been put in place to minimize the risks to the public. [5465/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I assume that the question refers to polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs, which may be present in transformers. A management plan for PCBs was published by the Environmental Protection Agency in August 2002, which outlines the strategy to be adopted in the managing and disposal of PCBs and PCB-contaminated equipment.