Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 632: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food her plans to resolve the situation where farmers, having paid a levy on bale wrap plastic, have had no service where proper waste management of plastics is a condition of REPS payments; and the measures she will take to restore the service. [29442/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The disposal of waste materials generally is covered by the Waste Management Acts 1996-2005, which apply to all sectors of society including the agricultural sector, and is a matter for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

Under the Waste Management (Farm Plastics) Regulations 2001, manufacturers and importers of farm plastics, including silage bale wrap and sheeting, are required to take steps to recover farm plastics waste which they have placed on the market, or alternatively to contribute to, and participate in, compliance schemes to recover the waste in question. The Irish Farm Film Producers Group, IFFPG, is currently the sole approved body in Ireland for the purposes of implementing a compliance scheme for the recovery of farm plastics waste. My Department has no involvement in the running of the scheme.

Participants in REPS are required to avail of a recycling collection facility, such as the IFFPG scheme, where one exists, and to store such waste plastics neatly and safely on the farm pending disposal. Officials of my Department who carry out on-farm inspections have been made aware that some farmers, for reasons outside their control, do not currently have access to the IFFPG scheme.