Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 222: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the types of plastics which are recyclable; which of these plastics are currently being collected for recycling for each local authority; which have not yet begun to be collected for recycling; his plans and timescales to ensure that all recyclable plastics are collected and recycled. [30914/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In Ireland as in other countries, a diverse range of plastic materials are in use; these fall into different categories, including low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Factors influencing the recycling of plastics include the market price for the polymer in question, transport costs, the value of the end product into which the material is recycled, availability of stable markets, the availability of clean recycled plastic materials, and the level of processing required to recycle the collected material. Data in relation to the amount of plastics collected by each local authority is not available in my Department; this is a matter for local authorities in the context of their regional waste management plans.

Significant progress has been made in recent years in recovering and recycling waste plastics. The EPA National Waste Report 2004 showed that 295,890 tonnes of plastic were managed of which 55,904 (18.9%) were recovered. 211,629 tonnes (71.5%) comprised plastic packaging of which 22.3% was recovered. The EPA's best estimate of the recovery rate for plastic packaging in 1998 was just 2.6%. It is a legal requirement that all packaging, including all plastic packaging, be designed, produced and placed on the market in such a way as to permit its reuse or recovery, including recycling. I am confident that Ireland will comfortably achieve the 2011 plastic packaging waste recovery target of 22.5% set by the European Union. A range of measures is being put in place to support the achievement of this target. For example, it is intended to continue to expand the network of bring facilities for all packaging waste including plastic as well as the availability of segregated collections for dry recyclables where economically feasible. The Dublin local authorities' plans for the introduction of segregated collections of plastic bottles from households are at an advanced stage.

In addition, a Market Development Group was established in 2004 to identify market opportunities for materials recovered for recycling, including plastic materials and to develop a Market Development Programme. The Group will identify a range of initiatives to address these difficulties including measures to improve knowledge about the plastic waste stream; increase the quantity collected; develop recycling and reprocessing capacity; promote research; and promote uptake of recycled products. The Market Development Programme is currently being finalised and I expect that it will be published later this year.