John Cregan (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 208: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on extending the subsidy scheme used plastics and recycling collections whereby a subsidy is paid from the levy to a group (details supplied) to private operators. [9415/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Under the Waste Management (Farm Plastics) Regulations 2001, which revised and replaced previous regulations made in 1997, a wide range of obligations are imposed on producers - manufacturers and importers - and suppliers of farm plastics, such as silage bale wrap and sheeting, requiring them to collect and recover such plastics at end-of-life. As an alternative to operators self-complying in this regard, both producers and suppliers of farm plastics may contribute to and participate in compliance schemes established for the recovery of farm plastics waste. The Irish Farm Films Producers Group, IFFPG, which comprises membership of film manufacturers, importers and suppliers, is a not-for-profit organisation and is at present the sole approved body in Ireland for the purposes of operating a compliance scheme for the recovery of farm plastics. Under the terms of its approval, the IFFPG is required to meet specified targets equating to the recovery of 60% of all farm plastics placed on the market in 2009 and in each year thereafter. Almost 12,500 tonnes of farm plastics were collected by the IFFPG in 2008 for the purpose of recycling, representing a national recovery rate of over 74% of farm plastics placed on the Irish market in that year. I should mention that 55% was the required target for 2008.

The scheme funds its activities by means of the imposition on producer members of an Environmental Protection Contribution levy of €127 per tonne of farm plastics placed on the Irish market. These levies are included in the sale price of the product and are passed through each step in the trading chain, down ultimately to the individual farmer. The Environmental Protection Contribution levies collected are transferred by producers to the IFFPG for the purpose of funding authorised collection agents on a nationwide basis to collect waste silage or bale wrap, before transporting it to recycling facilities at home and abroad for reprocessing. In addition, the levy income is supplemented by a differential weight-based collection fee applied on the collection of farm plastics from both individual farmyards and designated collection points of which there were approximately 140 operating nationally in 2009. Neither the levy nor the collection fees are prescribed in the regulations, they are set by the board of the IFFPG at a level that ensures their operating costs are met having regard to the producer responsibility obligations on their members. Ultimately, the levy paid by film manufacturers and importers to the IFFPG is a specific producer contribution towards the cost of recovering farm films at end-of-life. The costs associated with the collection and recovery of other types of farm plastics need to be met from other sources. It is my understanding that the IFFPG is developing proposals in this regard which are now close to finalisation.