Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 December 2025
55. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department has considered introducing quality standards or performance targets for materials processed by material recovery facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [72757/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe imposition of quality standards for the output of material recovery facilities is a matter best managed through European legislation, ensuring uniformity of standards and the most stable environment for investment.
The provisions of the EU's Waste Shipment Regulation are already driving quality output. For example, that regulation requires that plastic waste, being exported for further treatment, must not exceed a 6% (by weight) contamination level within the EU, or 2% where the destination is a third country.
Optimising the performance of waste operators can be and is incentivised by other means, including the market for secondary materials, to produce high quality output. Higher quality output materials will attract a higher price, and recovery operators producing lower quality material will have more difficulty reaching off-take agreements with end-destinations and other waste processors, especially in current recycling market conditions across the EU.
In addition, Repak pays a subsidy to waste operators for treating post-consumer packaging waste that is linked to quality, with higher quality recyclate attracting a higher subsidy. Repak is the producer responsibility organisation for packaging waste in Ireland. Repak conducts annual waste characterisation studies at all material recovery facilities to determine the packaging, non-packaging, and contamination elements of all material produced for sale by that facility to verify the quality achieved.
