Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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144. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the progress being made to ensure that there are standardised bin colours used across Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56657/21]

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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The Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy, published in September 2020, contains some 200 measures which will be delivered on a phased basis over the 5 year lifetime of the Plan, including a number of specific measures to address the need to improve our waste segregation and recycling practices, such as standardising the colour coding of bins across the State on a phased basis.Since publication of the Waste Action Plan, however, it has emerged  that the standardisation of bin colours is an area that is being assessed at a European level as part of range of measures to improve communication and engagement with EU households on waste management and recycling. An early move to standardise bin colours here in advance of any Europe-wide decision would risk confusion and unnecessary costs, if for example, we were to select colours that turn out to be different from those in any future European mandate. Accordingly, I consider it prudent at this stage to await the outcome of the European Commission's deliberations in this area before proceeding with a national initiative.