Greens write to all parties and groups seeking sponsorship of Bill
The Green Party have today written to all parties and groupings in the Dáil seeking co-sponsors of their Waste Reduction Bill 2017, in an attempt to have the Bill enacted before proposed changes to household waste charging systems take place later this year.
In a letter to all Dáil party leaders and groupings today, Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan TD asked for another party to use their private members’ time to introduce the Waste Reduction Bill 2017. The Bill would introduce a deposit refund scheme on plastic bottles and cans, and ban certain single-use, non-compostable plastics such as coffee cups.
Speaking today, Deputy Ryan said: “It is deeply unfair for the Government to place the burden of reducing waste going to landfill solely on households without introducing wider waste reduction measures. The lack of clarity from the Government on price increases and regulation of the industry has alarmed people, and they are rightly fearful of being unduly penalised.
“Today we’ve written to all party and group leaders in the Dáil seeking support to introduce our Waste Reduction Bill 2017, which would introduce a deposit refund scheme on plastic bottles and cans, and ban certain single-use, non-compostable plastics such as coffee cups, before the Dáil recess. It is our belief that, if this Bill is enacted before the waste charge changes come in to place, we can reduce people’s bills and mitigate the impact of the changes.
“In the spirit of new politics, we’re seeking another party to sponsor the Bill, and introduce it during their private members’ time before the Dáil recess, with our full support.
“The issue of plastic pollution is a massive challenge. Every year, over 110 million tonnes of plastic is produced. Of this, up to 43% ends up in landfill. Householders will end up shouldering the cost of this.
“In Ireland we are producing in the region of 210,000 tonnes of plastic per year. The most recent EPA Waste Packaging Statistics for Ireland 2013, states only 40% of plastic packaging is recycled and according to the National Waste Report in 2011, at least 52.5% of all plastic packaging waste in Ireland went straight to landfill.”
