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THE GOVERNMENT WILL not oppose a Green Party private members motion which calls for the establishment of a bottle deposit scheme.
Speaking in the Dáil today, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the previous view of government was the deposit protection scheme being proposed would cost in the region of €80 million to €100 million and would only reduce the use of plastics by around 2%.
“Perhaps we are wrong. We have decided to examine it afresh,” said Varadkar.
The former Environment Minister Denis Naughten also said bin charges would rise by up to €1 per lift for the green bin collection if a plastic bottle deposit scheme was introduced.
He stated the additional charge would be needed in order for private waste companies to recover their losses, adding that such a scheme would only increase plastic collection nationally by 3%.
However, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan was highly critical of the government and its intention to abstain on the motion on plastic waste and also for blocking the party’s Waste Reduction Bill going to committee stage.
He said Fine Gael had a chance to act but “instead we get prevarication, delays, and paralysis by analysis. We’ve come to expect a lack of environmental leadership from this government but they reached a cynical new low today. They have bottled it on the deposit refund scheme in the same way they abandoned the carbon tax rise”.
Ryan added that on the day that scientists are warning us that microplastics are now showing up in the human food chain, the government has shown “their true blue conservative colours”.
‘Waiting for EU legislation’
He warned that Ireland may have to wait for European legislation to “force us to do the right thing”.
The new Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton, has said a further study will be undertaken to inform “an evidence-based approach for effective regulatory and policy decision-making in addressing waste from single use plastic items”.
The Taoiseach said the Irish government will work with the European institutions to implement a ban and restrictions on single-use plastics.
“That legislation is being developed at a European level, and we very much support it and want to be part of it. Legislation is already passing through these Houses to prohibit microbeads.
“We are also carrying out an examination of the practicalities of imposing a levy on single-use plastics, including plastic coffee cups that cannot be recycled,” said Varadkar.
He committed that Bruton wants to look at the deposit protection scheme again.
“He wants to look at it afresh,” said Taoiseach.
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This needs to be done with glass and plastic. You can see how it works in other countries. Also as a side effect, Over in Berlin you can see homeless people going around with trollies collecting bottles that people have disgarded so they can cash them in for a few quid. So it gives them a source of income as well as keeping the streets a bit cleaner.
@Ciarān: same with San Francisco a lady comes around on Sunday mornings to collect the glass and tins from the house parties.
@Ciarān: That’s it, give FG another reason not to solve the housing emergency. I can see the spin now; There are no homeless in this country, they’re bottle collectors…
I can see this being used to fuj the unemployment figures too!
Every progressive European country operates such a scheme
How is it going to cost this sort of money’ if the recycling companies ran the scheme they would not have any losses
@Mark Walsh: because it’s Ireland.
@Mark Walsh: Because in Ireland we already recycle a higher proportion of PET bottles (about 70% of them) than the vast majority of EU countries.
This is mainly through recovery in household green bins. As PET is the most valuable material in the green bin collection, removing it makes our current recycling model unviable.
@Kevin McPartlan: And what about the other 30%? Do people bring their bottles home to recycle? No
I am in NYC. We have bottle and can deposits and there is not one bottle or can to be found on a beach, a park or a street or anywhere
@David Fitzgerald: you can say that again!
@David Fitzgerald: I lived in NYC 25 years ago and this scheme was operational then for both plastic bottles and aluminium cans. Similar programs operating successfully in many countries around the world. Why does the Irish government take 25 years to catch up with the rest of the world!
So, Naughten reckons the Green Bin pickup is going to have an extra Euro on to it to soak up the companies losses, Sure we can`t be letting the pile of notes sitting in other tax havens start to drop.
Just how much “profit” are these companies making on recyclables Journal? – Fact check please if possible?
@Pixie McMullen: if the recycling companies are no longer getting revenue from PET bottles which is their most valuable income source then it’s not viable to collect/recycle the rest without increase in pick up. Its that simple.
@Pixie McMullen: “So, Naughten reckons the Green Bin pickup is going to have an extra Euro on to it to soak up the companies losses, Sure we can`t be letting the pile of notes sitting in other tax havens start to drop.”
I wouldn’t say any recycling company has money in tax havens the way you think.
“Perhaps we are wrong” that’s the understatement of the century! Of course you got it wrong, that’s seemingly the only option the Irish government know how to take!
@David Farrell: ban all soft drink bottles from being imported from 2020
Glass only
Even glass thrown into the sea wouldn’t have same negative effect
We are awash with glass
Back to days in 70s when you got money back for returning the bottles to the seller
Hold on, where are these figures coming from 100 million to start the scheme? And 1€ extra per bin lift (even if this is true, it’s another nail in the coffin for what has been the disastorus privatisation of the public waste industry)… We really have a shower of incompetents running the show.
I’m old enough to remember when we used to have this scheme in Ireland for bottles. Why was it ever stopped?
Bring it in for glass bottles too.
They could work it 100 years ago we can surely manage it now.
Ahhh The Green Party, the people that brought you ultra low car tax on big diesel engines in 2008 and then realised that the same vehicles are spewing out catastrophic amounts of Nox particles making them so damaging to human health that governments around the planet are banning them from cities with a view to phasing them out although in the mid term. Despite this the low tax remains.
Where is the “perhaps we were wrong” here.
@David McShite: Fiat engines as used in Alfa’s are one of the worst polluters.
@David McShite: Scraping the barrel there a little arn’t we
Recycling for slow learners. Should have come in 20 years ago. That is a 20 year win or the industry lobby.
I am in NYC. We have bottle and can deposits and there is not one bottle or can to be found on a beac, a street or anywhere
@David Fitzgerald: you did say it. again :) :) :)
Plastic pollution was first recognized to have a global distribution in the marine environment as early as 1975.
I am in NYC. We have bottle and can deposits and there is not one bottle on can to be found on a beac, a street or anywhere
@David Fitzgerald: I see you have 2 brothers over there with the same name as ye as well mate
@David Fitzgerald: inconceivable!
Thank denis naughton for killing this last time, bruton thank god has more sense and will bring it over the line
@Ian McNally: Naughten already has hid fingerprints all over this with his €1 extra on Green bin pickups – he hasn`t gone away you know…
Wrong about a lot of things
Deposit scheme at long last. Should include aluminium drink cans while they are at it. Ask any member of a Tidy Towns Group and they will tell you the biggest source of litter is bottles and cans. Anyway about time, sensible decision to have another look at it
Could the journal do a fact check and see how much this country pays in all the different fines to the EU every year for non compliance with pollution, VRT etc
Looking like a second time to visit is the correct way I personally hope it works it could be worked by community service and prisoners
@Noel Cowzer: ya because having prisoners out on day release recycling broken glass bottles is a great idea ,, you should bang your name on the ballot for Friday
FG always want “further study” ! Thats just kicking the problem down the road. More money for advisors. No one will make decisions in Ireland. Get on with it and re introduced a refund scheme. There was a bottle return scheme here in the 1970s. The supermarkets stopped it.
And view got my voting card, you don’t really need one
Just bring id to polling station
i know its a bit off the subject , but has anybody received their voting cards yet, only 2 days to go?.
@RJ.Fallon: Yep! – I got mine on Monday, I think they done the voting cards through the TV licence address system this year mate, “If you`re not in, ye can`t win” sort of thing…………You naughty little boy you …. :-)
@Pixie McMullen: actually I dont have one due to disability , but someone else here needs a voting card.
@RJ.Fallon: No, nobody in my house has. Bit odd as they’re usually out a decent bit in advance.
Paper bags, glass bottles. Easy. But it requires legislation which would be seen as state control and anti competition so it will never happen here. Customers can change habits though by not buying stuff wrapped in plastic.
Long time overdue
have your say