Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 1219: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she is satisfied regarding the fact that farmers paid a collection fee at the time they purchased plastic for silage wrap and that this plastic is not being collected; her views on the implications this has for those involved in REPS and so on; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30140/06]

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 to 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 — that is, 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. The Waste Management (Farm Plastics) Regulations are a matter for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, and my Department has no involvement in the running of the IFFPG scheme.

Where a recycling collection facility exists for certain plastics, such as the IFFPG scheme, participants in REPS are required to avail of it. Officials of my Department who carry out on-farm inspections have been made aware that some farmers, for reasons outside their control, may not have access to the IFFPG scheme and take account of this in the course of their inspections. It should be noted that the absence of a collection service does not remove the obligation on REPS participants to keep their farms and farmyards neat and tidy at all times and to store recyclable materials, including farm plastics, in a tidy fashion.