Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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1045. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the quantity and percentage of plastics bottles that are verifiably recycled here in each of the past three years to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36296/18]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The EPA is the competent authority for the collation of national waste statistics and it reports annually on Ireland’s performance against the recycling and recovery targets set out in the EU Packaging and Waste Packaging Directive. However, there is no specific target set for plastic bottles within the Directive and therefore data relating to plastic bottles is compiled in conjunction with data for all other plastic packaging items.  Published recycling quantities and percentages for all packaging waste and for plastic packaging generated in Ireland for the last 3 reporting years, i.e. 2014-2016, is tabulated below.

Although I do not have the quantity and percentage of plastics bottles that were recycled in Ireland in each of the past three years, the EPA is currently finalising a national waste characterisation study, which is due for completion by the end of 2018, and this will provide a more comprehensive analysis of this and other waste streams.

Repak, the national packaging compliance scheme, which manages the collection and recycling of approximately 80% of all packaging on the Irish market, reported the following to me for their membership:

Plastic Bottle Recycling