4 May 2006

Environment

Certification of Exported Recyclable Material

Ciarán Cuffe asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on the fact that almost three quarters of recyclable material is recycled abroad; and if he has satisfied himself with the recycling certification system of exported recyclable material, particularly material ultimately exported outside the EU.

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. Roche): The export of waste is regulated by local authorities, in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No. 259/93 of 1 February 1993 on the supervision and control of waste within, into and out of, the European Community. Shipments of waste for recovery which are in compliance with the EU Waste Shipment Regulation are permissible to non-EU destinations subject to any restrictions are imposed by that Regulation. Efforts to verify destinations are being made as part of international projects under the aegis of IMPEL — the European Enforcers Network — and also as part of ongoing enforcement actions by the Irish competent authorities. The revised waste shipment Regulation — which will come into operation during the latter half of 2007 — will give stronger powers to competent authorities of export to stop shipments in order to prevent unauthorised recovery.

While there has been recent progress in the provision of more infrastructure within Ireland to process materials recovered for recycling, for example in the development of new facilities to process waste electrical and electronic equipment, it should be noted that clean segregated materials are a sought after resource which are freely traded under EU and international law. This is supported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Decision of C(92)39 Final on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Wastes Destined for Recovery Operations which notes that the recovery of valuable materials and energy from wastes is an integral part of the international economic system and that well established markets exist for, and can contribute to, the collection and processing of such materials within OECD member countries.

While international trade in waste is consistent with Government policy insofar as it supports improved performance in recycling, the Government also recognises the value of a more developed recycling infrastructure in Ireland. To this effect, a Market Development Group was established by Government in 2004 with a view to identifying market opportunities for materials recovered for recycling. A Market Development Programme will be developed by the Group in 2006.