Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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1050. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the position with regard to the commissioning of a waste characterisation study of litter, street cleanings and street bin collected material; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14102/19]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The first National Waste Characterisation study in ten years was published by the EPA in December, 2018. The report provides a very important insight on our waste management practices and will prove invaluable in terms of supporting current and future waste policy decisions. The report further highlights areas where improvements can and must be made if we are to keep achieving our targets under EU legislation and transition to a circular and resource efficient economy. Details of the report are available at .

My Department has funded a range of initiatives to support people to prevent, segregate and mange their waste more sustainably, including through the development of a single national recycling list for households, a 'Master Recycling programme, the 'Stop Food Waste' programme and information on how to use the organic bin appropriately, at www.brownbin.ie.

To further assist in the provision of information to the public, my Department, in conjunction with the Regional Waste Management Planning Offices, launched a new website in November 2018, www.mywaste.ie. This website has been developed by the Regional Waste Management Offices with support from my Department, to provide consumers with a single information resource on all aspects of domestic waste management in Ireland and in particular it focuses on the provision of advice on managing waste more responsibly and efficiently.

Material collected as litter, street cleanings and from on-street refuse bins make up 3 to 4% of Municipal Waste based on current best estimates, but it is an element of waste about which we need to know more. The EPA is currently preparing tenders for work to include characterisation of litter, street cleanings and street bin collected material, with the expectation that this work will begin in quarter 2 2019.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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1051. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of the progress and the anticipated completion and publication of a cost-benefit analysis for a deposit return scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14103/19]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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This Government is committed to leading the way in reducing single use plastics and is working both at a national and European level to tackle the problem. The government has:

- Agreed that Government Departments and bodies will not purchase single-use plastic cups, cutlery and straws

- Strongly supported new EU legislation on Single Use Plastics (SUP), which will ban straws, cotton bud sticks made from plastic, plastic plates and cutlery, plastic coffee stirrers and plastic balloon holders

- Committed to a 90% plastic bottle collection target and a 55% plastic recycling target

- Commenced a clean oceans initiative to collect, reduce and reuse marine litter and clean up our marine environment

- Commissioned a review to establish the best way to reach a 90% collection target for beverage containers, after which the Minister will announce the necessary actions.

A tender process for the completion of a national study into how Ireland can achieve the new, higher waste collection targets for beverage containers, as outlined in the EU Single Use Plastic proposal is underway.

The study is intended to identify how this higher new waste collection target can be achieved within an Irish context. The feasibility of the implementation of a Deposit and Return Scheme as a means to achieve this, is to be considered as one option. It is imperative that the full costs and impacts of introducing a new collection system, on top of the existing, successful collection system, are understood to allow for informed evidence-based decision making.