Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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391. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to implement legislative measures compelling private waste collectors to provide more detailed guidance to their domestic customers regarding the types of plastics or other material that can or cannot be put in the green bin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50746/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The seventh schedule to the Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations, S.I. No. 820 of 2007, as amended, sets out a minimum list of recyclable material that household waste collectors must accept. A condition attached to household waste collection permits also provides that the permit holder shall implement and maintain an on-going programme of communication for their household kerbside waste customers in accordance with their customer charter or as may be required by the National Waste Collection Permit Office. The customer charter, which household waste collectors are required to have in place, states that: Information packs shall be available to all customers clearly indicating waste types appropriate to each bin and how to present material for recycling.

Household waste collectors are free, however, under that legislation to accept additional recyclable items not contained in the seventh schedule to S.I. No. 820 of 2007, as amended.  

Market research undertaken by my Department this year identified that this non-uniformity around what items go in which bin was causing some confusion. This situation cannot continue, where just one contaminated item can ruin all our good recycling efforts.

I therefore announced yesterday that the Regional Waste Management Offices, Repak and the waste industry have worked together to address this issue and that for the first time ever, we have a single agreed list of items which can be placed in the recycle bin, regardless of where you live.  

Removing confusion will undoubtedly play a huge role in improving the quality of the material which goes in the recycle bin, helping to ensure that this material is actually recycled as opposed to being contaminated and sent for recovery or to landfill.

This definitive list and further information is available to download at http://recyclinglistireland.ie/ and will be used by all stakeholders as a platform for education and communication to further improve recycling in our respective communities.