Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 285: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the plans he has to introduce further waste packaging legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31613/07]

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 288: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the plans he has to promote improved waste packaging recycling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31616/07]

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 290: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views of the level of support and relationship his Department provides to the repak compliance scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31618/07]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 285, 288 and 290 together.

The principle of producer responsibility requires waste producers to contribute to the waste management costs of products which they have placed on the market at end-of-life. In support of this approach, a producer responsibility initiative operates in Ireland in relation to packaging waste, underpinned by the Waste Management (Packaging) Regulations 2003, as amended, which replaced earlier regulations introduced in 1997. Under the regulations, producers who place substantial amounts of packaging on the market – major producers — are required to take steps to recover packaging waste or alternatively to contribute to, and participate in, compliance schemes set up to recover packaging waste.

Repak Ltd – established by Irish industry in 1997 to promote, co-ordinate and finance the collection and recovery of packaging waste with a view to achieving Ireland's packaging waste recovery and recycling targets under European Parliament and Council Directive 1994/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste — is the only such approved compliance scheme.

Ireland has a successful track record in packaging waste recycling. Under the Directive, Ireland was required to achieve a 25% recovery rate of packaging waste by 1 July 2001, increasing to a 50% recovery rate by 31 December 2005. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reported in its National Waste Report 2005 — published in January 2007 — that packaging waste recovery increased to 59.9% in that year, indicating that Ireland continues to exceed the current target recovery rate of 50% set by the Packaging Directive.

I will shortly be making new consolidated packaging regulations that will further enhance the packaging waste recovery regime. The improvements I will make are based largely on recommendations of stakeholders and include proposed revisions to increase the number of producers who will incur major producer obligations, to better share the burden of compliance.

I fully recognise that despite progress on recycling we need to continue to improve our performance on packaging waste. The Programme for Government provides for a comprehensive review of waste management planning, which I have directed my Department to initiate. This review will, inter alia, look at the desirability of other producer responsibility schemes, including deposit and refund for beverage containers.

In the interim, I have recently challenged industry to develop appropriate measures to address packaging waste litter, in particular in relation to beverage containers, and to examine voluntary measures to promote packaging waste prevention and minimisation. My Department is committed to continuing discussions on these issues in the context of finalising a four-year strategy for the packaging waste sector, this is currently being developed under the aegis of the National Strategy Group on Packaging Waste Recycling which is representative of the relevant public and private sector stakeholders, including Repak.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 286: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he is aware that newspaper companies generate a high volume of waste; if he has plans to include this sector in future waste packaging legislation in the short-term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31614/07]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Newsprint does not come within the definition of packaging and hence is not covered by waste packaging legislation. It is however a major waste stream accounting for about two-thirds by weight of the contents of kerbside dry recyclables.

Ireland has to meet challenging targets under the Landfill Directive, specifically diversion rates of 59.3% for 2010, 72.8% by 2013 and 80.1% by 2016 of biodegradable waste from landfill. Paper and cardboard makes up a significant element of biodegradable waste. Under the National Strategy on Biodegradable Waste, paper and cardboard (which includes newsprint) recycling must increase from 49.5% in 2004 to 55% by 2010, 65% by 2013, and 67% by 2016. These are the imperatives that are driving our efforts to persuade the newsprint industry to take responsibility for the waste their products generate, in the same way as other sectors of industry such as packaging, electrical, farm plastics and tyre producers already have.

Discussions are continuing with the newsprint industry with a view to developing a producer responsibility initiative (PRI) for the recovery and recycling of newspapers and magazines. Discussions have focused on waste prevention and minimisation issues in the newsprint industry, specifically the practice of "boxing out" i.e. oversupply of magazines, recovery and recycling of unsold newspapers and magazines and post–consumer newsprint waste. A Joint Industry Taskforce, comprising the Regional Newspapers Association of Ireland (RNAI), Newspread and Eason Wholesale Ltd, and co-ordinated by National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI) is leading the negotiations with my Department.

Since the establishment of the Taskforce, progress has been made by the industry in increasing the use of recycled paper in newsprint. My Department has asked the Taskforce to develop an industry code of practice with a view to preventing and minimising waste in this sector. At the suggestion of the Department the National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI) representing the newsprint publishers have now appointed an Environment Officer to co-ordinate the development and management of a PRI and examine the issues referred to above. I understand that when this review is complete following consultations with the other stakeholders in the industry, with a view to developing a consensus on the key issues — "boxing out", recovery and recycling of unsold newspapers and magazines and post–consumer newsprint waste — new proposals will be submitted to my Department.

My Department will continue to engage with the Joint Taskforce on developing a stable and sustainable industry initiative for the management of this important waste stream. I regard the achievement of progress on this as a priority.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 287: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to introduce internal recycling facilities given that the majority of waste produced in Ireland has to be exported in order to be recycled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31615/07]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Ireland relies significantly on foreign based materials recycling infrastructure, which dealt with 83% of recycled waste in 2005. While there has been recent progress in the provision of more infrastructure within Ireland to process materials recovered for recycling, for example in the development of new facilities to process waste electrical and electronic equipment, the Government recognizes the value of developing further markets for recyclates in Ireland.

The Market Development Programme for Waste Resources 2007-2011 was published in April 2007. The purpose of the Programme is to promote stable demand for recovered materials and to support the achievement of economies of scale in the production of products made from recycled materials, as well as the need for more recycling infrastructure in Ireland to reduce the reliance on overseas markets. The Programme also seeks to identify new applications and markets for recyclable material and secondary recycled products. Implementation arrangements for the Programme will be put in place shortly.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 289: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the plans he has to introduce further categorisation of waste; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31617/07]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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In accordance with the provisions of Directive 2006/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2006 on waste it is a matter for the European Commission to draw up a list of waste belonging to the categories listed in Annex 1 of that Directive. The Directive provides for periodic review and, if necessary, a revision of this list and in these regards the Commission is to be assisted by a technical committee comprising representatives of the Member States.

The Directive is currently being revised and a common position was adopted by the Council of Ministers in June 2007 on the revision proposal. The new Directive will, inter alia, clarify the distinction between waste and non-waste, by-products that are not waste, when waste ceases to be waste and the determination of waste which is considered hazardous. The power to establish criteria on these issues will again be vested in the European Commission, assisted by a Committee.