Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 263: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to reduce the waste tonnage for members of Repak to ten tonnes to ensure more major producers could comply with Repak in view of the fact that to be a member of Repak a major producer must have an annual turnover of €1 million and produce in excess of 24 tonnes of waste; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32757/07]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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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. I have recently publicly announced that I consider that the cost of recycling should be more equitably shared among more of the producers engaged in supplying packaging. I will shortly sign new consolidated Packaging Regulations to give effect to this and other proposed changes to the packaging waste recovery regime including a reduction in the tonnage threshold for compliance with the Packaging Regulations.