Green sweep: best-laid plans put to the test

IF THE Green Party doesn’t deliver on its environmental policies while in government, its pious words voiced in the powerlessness of opposition will surely come back to haunt it.

As party leader John Gormley holds the key environment portfolio, he will be expected to deliver on a large number of policies, not least in the critical area of waste and recycling.

Earlier this year, the then leader of the Greens, Trevor Sargeant, described Ireland as a “European leader” in creating waste, dumping it in landfills and exporting it.

In its 10 steps to clean up the environment, the party said it would, in government, open more recycling centres with work-friendly hours, offer recycling incentives and tackle illegal dumping.

The Greens also promised to tackle illegal dumping — by strengthening the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Office of Environmental Enforcement — and bring in strict regulation of private waste operators.

They would establish a new semi-State recycling company to ensure materials are recycled in Ireland rather than exported abroad.

They would also introduce deposit refund schemes for drinking containers, abolish flat rates on waste disposal and introduce a national system of weight-related charges for waste collection. Also, it would provide bins for organic waste to every household within the term of government.

Paper and cardboard recycling is an area where progress can be made. According to the Greens in October 2004, Ireland is at the bottom of the European league.

It quoted statistics to show that, in 2002, we were recycling 13% of paper and cardboard compared to 82% in the Netherlands and 80% in Switzerland. We’re also well down the European league table in newspaper recycling. The National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN) recently highlighted the major issue of unsold newspapers and magazines disposal.

A report, which was presented to the Department of Environment, showed a huge unsold newspaper and magazine mountain is being created and added to on a monthly basis by publishers and wholesalers who are “dumping” overstock on independent newsagents around the country.

The newsagents say they then have to deal with the unsold copies, which regularly come to more than 50% of their total supply.

The NFRN is proposing unsold copies be returned to the supplying wholesalers for “secure and auditable” recycling. Most EU countries operate this model and experience nearly 100% recycling of unsold product.

This would encourage wholesalers to improve communication with retailers, in order to more accurately provide the right range and quantities for consumers, according to NFRN Ireland president Martin Mulligan.

He called on the Government to enforce the 1996 Waste Management Act, which makes the producer fully accountable for waste.

The NFRN report also found that significant quantities of unsold newspapers and magazines are finding their way into landfill, illegal dumps.

In Hampshire, England, millions of newspapers and magazines are collected yearly for recycling through a network of banks and kerbside recycling schemes. Most of the paper is transported to the world’s largest newspaper recycling mill in Kent.

At the mill, the paper goes through a massive pulping machine. The pulp is then de-inked and once all the glues and varnishes have been removed, the pulp is ready to be made into “new” newspaper.

Most of the discarded papers are made into cardboard, while other uses include egg cartons and kitty litter.