Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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126. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment what action his Department is taking to fund and promote community scale composting initiatives in urban areas in view of the high levels of organic household waste that still goes into landfill/general waste in households; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2625/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The primary focus for my Department is to encourage both householders and commercial premises to minimise the volume of waste they produce in the first place, and then to maximise the volume of recyclable and organic material which is diverted away from the residual waste bin through improved waste segregation practices. In terms of organic waste the recent expansion of household brown bin collections to all households in the State with a waste collection service and the introduction of incentivised waste collection charging in the commercial sector are expected to result in a significant reduction in the amount of organic waste placed in the residual bin. The roll-out of these measures is being supported by education and awareness campaigns which will help inform both householders and commercial premises on how to manage their waste in a more sustainable manner, please see MyWaste.ie for further information.

The Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme (CEIGS), administered by my Department, directly supports the growth of the circular economy in Ireland via a competitive funding process. The scheme aims to support innovation and demonstration circular economy projects by small to medium enterprises and social enterprises. In 2021, 10 projects were selected to benefit from a total funding pot of €490,000. A second funding call was launched in 2022, with total available funding set at €650,000. The Circular Economy Strategy further commits to increasing per annum funding under the grant scheme to €1 million by 2024. It is intended that a third call will be launched early in 2024.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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127. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when the new national waste management plan will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2626/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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It is expected that the plan will be launched in February 2024.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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128. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment what action his Department is taking to deal with increasing levels of waste generation and poor levels of waste segregation practices in businesses and households given that this will be a core issue in preventing Ireland from meeting upcoming EU waste recycling targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2627/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Government’s Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy, published in 2020, reconfirms the link between the circular economy and climate action and mandates a whole-of-government approach to ensure a successful transition to a circular economy. The Whole-of-Government Circular Economy Strategy 2022-2023, published in December 2021, sets out an overall policy approach to achieving a circular economy, including sustainable consumption of resources . The next iteration of the strategy is currently being developed by my Department and will set out targets for, inter alia, reductions in material resource consumption, use and re-use of materials across a range of sectors.

With a view to building on the range of measures which were already in place to support greater levels of waste segregation and recycling, for example the Landfill Levy, incentivised household waste collection charging and the requirements of producers under the packaging regulations, the Circular Economy & Miscellaneous Provisions Act facilitated the delivery of a number of further measures from the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy, including:

• incentivised waste collection charging in the commercial sector which was introduced on 1^stJuly 2023,
• a recovery levy on municipal waste recovery operations at municipal landfills, waste to energy plants, co-incineration plants and to the export of waste, introduced on 1^stSeptember 2023
• the expansion of household bio-waste collection services to all households in the State from 31^stDecember 2023 and
• the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for single use PET plastic bottles and aluminium and steel cans which will go live on 1^stFebruary 2024.