Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Regulations to introduce the coffee cup levy have been drafted and I intend to bring these into force as soon as is possible. Once a commencement date for the levy has been agreed with the Collection Authority, at least three months will be provided to allow appropriate preparations to be made, including a comprehensive public awareness campaign, before the levy is applied. The regulations have been subject to public consultation and all submissions received were considered as part of the drafting process.

A Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is being introduced to encourage more people to recycle drinks containers. It works by charging anyone who buys a drink a small deposit for the plastic bottle or can that it comes in, which is refunded when the container is returned for recycling.

DRS will increase the quantity of bottles and cans collected for recycling and will result in less going to landfill, incineration or becoming litter and, by ensuring a separate collection stream, will also improve the quality of recycled material being collected and generated.

In July 2022, I approved an application from Deposit Return Scheme Ireland CLG (trading as Re-turn) to operate as an approved body under the DRS Regulations. Re-turn is a new, not-for-profit company set up by beverage producers and retailers to meet their obligations under the DRS Regulations. Re-turn is responsible for all operational matters relating to the DRS, including the setting of registration and producer fees. DRS is a major project involving the development of complex IT, infrastructure and communication systems and Re-turn will work with all relevant stakeholders over the course of 2023 to prepare for go-live in February 2024.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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129. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the measures he is taking to ban the production and use of single-use plastics, aside from medical supplies; to encourage the development of environmentally friendly alternatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34824/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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In July 2021, the Single Use Plastics Regulations came into effect. The purpose of these regulations is to prevent and reduce the impact of single use plastics on the environment and introduce a range of measures aimed at significantly reducing the consumption of certain single use plastics. Single use plastics which are intended for use as medical devices or for special medical purposes are excluded from the scope of the regulations.

Measures include market restrictions (bans), on single use products for which sustainable alternatives are readily available and affordable. From July 2021, single use plastic cutlery, plates, beverage stirrers, food / beverage cups and containers made of expanded polystyrene and all products made from oxo-degradable plastic were banned from being placed on the Irish market.

For other SUP, measures are in place to limit the use or improve the design of those products and include:

- labelling requirements to inform consumers of the presence of plastic in the product and warn them of the environmental damage such plastic can cause,

- design requirements such as tethered caps and minimum recycled content levels for plastic bottles,

- separate collection for recycling targets for plastic bottles, which will be delivered through the Deposit Return Scheme.

In addition, the SUP regulations mandate the establishment of a number new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes. Since January 2023, EPRs are in place for single use packaging items and for tobacco filter products containing plastic, while EPRs for wet wipes, balloons and fishing gear will be in place from end 2024. Producers of these products have a responsibility to finance the collection and environmentally-sound waste management of their products at end of life. This includes contributing to the cost of data gathering, litter clean up and awareness raising measures.

The Circular Economy Act, signed into law at the end of July, provides me, as Minister, with the power to introduce levies and bans on a range of single use items, to incentivise people to choose to re-use and to help reduce single-use waste.

The immediate focus is on the introduction of a levy on single-use cups for hot drinks (Coffee Cup Levy). Regulations to introduce this levy have been drafted and the Department plans to bring these into force as soon as is possible.