Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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111. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the steps his Department is taking to ensure wholesalers and retailers who sell fruit and vegetables in plastic packaging do so in an environmentally friendly manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15854/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Circular Economy Act 2022 provides the necessary legislative basis for several key measures supporting Ireland’s transition to a circular economy.

The Act requires that the next Circular Economy Strategy include sectoral targets in respect of, inter alia, the retail and packaging sectors. Targets must deliver reductions in material resource consumption and non-recyclable materials; increases in the use of reusable products; increased levels of repair and re-use; or improved maintenance and optimised use of goods, products and materials. The strategy must also set out the actions necessary to meet those targets. The first statutory circular economy strategy must be submitted for Government approval not later than 6 months after the date on which section 7 of the Act comes into operation.

The Act also provides that a report, examining how single-use packaging used in the sale of fruit and vegetables can be reduced, must be published by the Minister. The report will be commissioned and published within 12 months from the date of commencement.

It is intended to commence the relevant sections of the Act shortly.

In addition, the European Union (Waste Directive) Regulations 2020 introduced a new requirement for collective EPR schemes to eco-modulate the financial contributions paid by producers. This measure incentivises producers to design products prioritising durability, reparability, re-usability and recyclability by charging them lower fees. Since July 2021, Repak, Ireland’s packaging EPR scheme, is implementing this approach for plastic packaging.