26/03/2003

Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.

Minister Cullen Opens Irish Water, Waste And Environment Exhibition And Irish Recycling And Waste Management Exhibition, 2001.

Martin Cullen, T.D., Minister for the Environment and Local Government today (26 March, 2003) opened the Irish Water, Waste and Environment and the Irish Recycling and Waste Management Exhibitions at the RDS in Dublin.

In his opening address the Minister said that: “these exhibitions not only provide a useful way for all of the relevant stakeholders involved in Waste and Water Management to come together to share ideas and approaches, they act as a display of innovative approaches and environmental technologies”.

Total planned spending on water services infrastructure over the period of the current National Development Plan amounts to almost €4.4bn. This investment is aimed at supporting economic and social development, employment generation and the achievement of high environmental standards. Compliance with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive by the end of 2005 is a central part of our investment under the Water Services investment Programme. We will be spending some €2.4 billion on wastewater facilities over the period of the National Development Plan (NDP).

The challenges we face regarding the management of our waste are growing every day. In meeting those challenges, we are making progress. “More and more households throughout the country are being provided with segregated waste collection services. Around one third of all households now benefit from these services – a remarkable increase from a standing start two years ago”.

The Minister also highlighted how the regulatory landscape is continuing to change dramatically in Ireland, with the introduction of new regulations for packaging waste, requiring business to segregate specified packaging waste materials arising on their premises and ensuring that the Landfill disposal of this commercial packaging waste is now banned.

Other important waste stream’s currently being tackled includes construction and demolition (C&D) waste, where industry has responded positively to the challenge posed by the Government by developing a comprehensive set of recommendations to achieve the specified recycling targets of 50% of C&D waste by 2003, increasing progressively to at least 85% by 2013. Industry is also actively involved with the recently established taskforce on the implementation of the new European Directives on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, and also the Restriction on Hazardous Substances. These initiatives are expected to provide new specialist opportunities in the waste management sector in the future.

In conclusion the Minister said that he has as one of his key objectives: “to transform waste management in Ireland. As we have seen with the extraordinary success of the Plastic Bag Levy, people are willing to change with a bit of encouragement. I believe we can change our ways, and I believe we can create plenty of new opportunities for the waste management business along the way.