Recycling Policy
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-28
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Malcolm Noonan (GP), Agricultural Panel

I welcome the point the Minister of State made on how the commitment will be met, because it is a programme for Government commitment. I appreciate that, as he stated, the role of the Department and Government is largely in setting policy. However, this is a programme for Government commitment, so it is criticat to give certainty to the sector that this commitment is met and that a timeline is laid out for that. The packaging and packaging waste regulation, PPWR, as I mentioned, was adopted by the European Parliament in April 2024, replacing the packaging directive. This is the key policy on packaging recycling for the coming decade. The PPWR requires that packaging waste is recycled at scale, meaning packaging waste must be separated, collected, sorted and recycled through installed infrastructure.
I welcome the fact the Minister of State made a commitment to putting the funding in place. As I said, it is a modest scale of funding. This is material that, if it is not diverted for recycling, is going to end up in the big hungry beast out in Poolbeg. It is not just highly recyclable materials but also material that is highly calorific and valuable for incineration. I hope the Government will make this much-needed investment in the sector as soon as possible.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:52+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-28