Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 229: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if there are developments in the extension of the scheme for the disposal of silage wrap under which farmers in south Tipperary would benefit, as the present situation is causing a lot of problems. [15507/07]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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To address the issue of accumulated backlogs of farm plastic, designated facilities are being provided on a temporary, once-off basis by local authorities where farmers may deposit stockpiled farm film plastic and silage wrap. These special arrangements operated on a pilot basis in the first instance in counties Clare, Galway, Mayo, Offaly and Waterford during June and July of last year. The service was provided free to the farmer and funding to assist the local authorities is being made available from my Department through the Environment Fund.

The collections were well supported by farmers in the counties participating in the pilot phase, leading to large quantities of plastic being deposited at designated sites. A significant finding from the pilot scheme was that it is not possible to operate collections in a large number of counties at the same time due to capacity constraints on the part of recovery operators. Accordingly, it was necessary to roll out the scheme to other areas on a staggered basis. Arising from a comprehensive examination of the information available, I approved further collections of waste silage / bale wrap by Carlow, Leitrim, Longford, North Tipperary, Roscommon and Wicklow County Councils which concluded in January of this year. It is estimated that in excess of 15,000 tonnes of plastics were recovered by the eleven local authorities that have operated collections to date.

Following a review of the outcome of the second round of collections, I have recently announced that collections of waste silage / bale wrap will now be put in place in a further 18 county council areas over the next 6 months. When the final phase is completed, collections will have taken place in all 29 county council areas. This arrangement allows for phased collections while at the same time creating certainty in the minds of farmers as to when their backlog will be cleared. It also allows local authorities and local farming organisations sufficient notice to agree and put in place the necessary arrangements for collections in their areas.

The collections are now being rolled out as follows:

The dates and locations of collections in South Tipperary are a matter for the local authority but I understand that South Tipperary County Council is currently putting in place the necessary arrangements and that collections will take place in May.