David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his policy regarding incineration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46783/12]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his policy regarding mechanical and biological treatment of waste management; the supports his Department has in place to encourage this form of waste management; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46784/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 176 and 177 together.

The Government’s new waste policy, A Resource Opportunity - Waste Management Policy in Ireland, published in July 2012, sets out the actions through which Ireland will make the further progress necessary to become a recycling society, with a clear focus on resource efficiency and the virtual elimination of landfilling of municipal waste. The policy contains measures to ensure that prevention, reuse, recycling and recovery are favoured to the disposal of waste; the measures already in place to encourage the development of alternatives to landfill include a landfill levy of €65 per tonne and regulations which require the diversion from landfill of food waste arising on specified premises. 

It is this policy approach, consistent with the waste hierarchy as set out in the Waste Framework Directive, rather than determination in favour of or against any particular process or technology, that must guide the necessary process of infrastructural diversification, which can be expected to involve the deployment of a variety of technologies and treatment processes across a network of facilities.