Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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36. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will make a commitment to providing incentives for businesses to implement a paper cup collection scheme by reclassifying paper cups under the 'recycled paper/board' category rate within the classification guidelines (details supplied); if he is aware that this reclassification would reduce EPR fees for participating retailers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39854/24]

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Millions of single-use cups are sent to landfill or incineration every year in Ireland. This is an entirely avoidable waste and I want to encourage people to prevent it by enjoying their on-the-go drink in a reusable cup. The Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy, Ireland’s national waste policy, sets out range of measures to tackle the environmental degradation caused by single-use plastics, including single use cups. The intention is to eliminate this waste stream with the introduction of a levy and an eventual ban on all single-use cups, building on the success of initiatives such as the Killarney Coffee Cup project.

Single-use cups are typically made from paper which is lined with a plastic coating to make the cups waterproof, resulting in a composite material which makes them difficult and expensive to recycle. Typically, such cups must be disposed of as general waste as they are not recycled in Ireland. These cups are also contaminated by the drink they contain, which is another reason why they should not be placed in dry recycling bins.

Reclassifying single use cups as a recycled material for the purposes of reducing producer responsibility fees, would not address our overreliance on single-use products, would not minimise the use of the resources required to manufacture them and would not reduce the amount of waste to be disposed of.

Repak, the extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme for packaging, has introduced an eco-modulation fee structure to drive environmental considerations for packaging materials. Repak members now incur lower fees by placing materials on the market that are recycled instead of materials that are not recycled. This eco-modulation framework, including categories and fees, is an operational matter for Repak.