The Environmental Pillar has welcomed the Government’s plans to bring in new environmental levies to change consumer and business behaviour, protect our environment, tackle emissions and provide a much needed funding injection for the almost forgotten Environment Fund.
Speaking this morning, the Minister for the Environment Richard Bruton TD announced a number of proposed levies to crack down on single use plastics, landfill use and takeaway waste that will now be put out to public consultation. [1]
For years, the Pillar – a coalition of national environmental groups – has been calling for greater urgency from our own Government in bringing about policy change to tackle the growing scourge of plastic and other waste. [2] [3]
Our throwaway culture has left use with a deluge of waste, in particular single use plastics that are clogging our cities, rural towns and marine environment, as well as impacting biodiversity and contributing to our emissions. [4] [5] [6]
Notable levies now planned for introduction in 2020 and 2021 include:
A latte levy on disposable cups somewhere between 10c and 25c
An increase in the Plastic Bag Levy from 22c to 25c and inclusion of medium weight plastic bags;
An increase in the Landfill Levy by €5 per tonne to €80 per tonne
A Waste Recovery Levy at €5 a tonne for incineration and waste exports
The Government also plans to introduce a levy on take away food containers by 2023 and on food packaging in retail outlets at a yet to be determined date.
Widely welcomed move
While warmly welcoming several aspects of the move (discussed below), we would also like to see greater support for a deposit-return scheme for drinks container to encourage recycling similar to the very popular and effective scheme for glass bottles that was once the norm in Ireland. [7]
In addition, the small levy proposed for incineration and export appears to be nibbling around the edges and we would like to see that increased but not so high so as to be onerous on the general public.
Latte Levy
On the proposed latte levy, we particularly welcome the fact that Mr Bruton did not differentiate between disposable, recyclable and compostable beverage cups, a big change from the Cabinet’s previous position. [8]
While compostable coffee cups are generally biodegradable, they are no silver bullet and are still single-use disposable packaging materials. The now-proposed blanket approach will deal with the whole single-use disposable mentality. [9]
A levy at the point of sale to consumers is visible and allows consumers to make the choice to bring their own containers and also pressure retailers to offer compostable containers.
We would encourage cafes to continue to offer discounts for bringing your own cups to encourage behaviour change as a combination of carrot and stick which is the proven most successful model. [10]
Environmental Fund
We also welcome Mr Bruton’s assurances that all revenue raised from levies will go into the Environment Fund for reinvestment in environmental action such as waste prevention and tackling waste blackspots.
Established in 2002 and financed through the plastic bag levy and landfill levy, the fund has dwindled from a high of €62 million in 2011 to €44 million in 2017, a victim of its own success as citizens change behaviour. [11]
The fund is vital to support environmental activities, such as the EPA’s enforcement office, anti-littering programmes, and limited but important funding for the environmental NGO community.
Environmental Pillar spokesperson and co-coordinator of the Sick of Plastic Campaign, Mindy O’Brien, said:
“We are a long way off reducing the amount of waste packaging generated and the amount of single-use disposable items discarded in this country and need action now.
“It is welcome to see the Government pick up on many of our proposals to cut down on plastic consumption and put Ireland on the path to becoming a genuine leader in tackling litter and plastic pollution.
“Instead of looking at end of pipe solutions, we need to focus on preventing the creation of waste in the first place, and that’s achieved through waste prevention, through re-use, and putting economic incentives on what we are purchasing at the till.
“We also need to make sure that we take a holistic approach to this issue and that we are not going to go from single-use plastic to single-use paper, single-use compostable, single-use something else. We have a target under the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive that we have to focus on re-use and reduction – this is key above all else.” [12]
Environmental Pillar spokesperson and co-coordinator of the Sick of Plastic Campaign, Oisin Coghlan:
“While we welcome the decision to open the public consultation on levies for single-use plastics and other waste streams, we would also urge the State to push forward with plans for a deposit and refund scheme as soon as possible.
“The benefits of such a scheme are already well established from examples in numerous EU states so it’s high time that we move forward and work to reduce the levels of plastic waste ending up in the environment, and move towards a more sustainable, circular economy.
“We’re not going to be able to get rid of all packaging but it’s time to turn the tide on ever-increasing waves of it and to give consumers the choice and the ability and to make it as convenient as possible for us to do the right thing.”
Dr Sarah Miller, Environmental Pillar spokesperson and CEO of the Rediscovery Centre added:
“Financial instruments such as levies on single use plastics and other disposable items are necessary to support behaviour change and stimulate growth in the Circular Economy. Waste recovery levies and increases in the landfill levy, if appropriately applied, support the reuse and repair sector, which is much needed in Ireland.
“Maximising the value of precious resources and changing consumer behaviour is critical in the development of a truly circular economy and required in order to meet the surmounting challenge of climate change.”
ENDS
[1] New environmental levies proposed to encourage more sustainable behaviour: https://tinyurl.com/yxenagj3
[2] Numerous Pillar budget submissions have outlined environmental levies to protect our natural environment, bring in revenue, and bolster an ailing Environment Fund: https://goo.gl/1hWwAK
[3] By 2015, humans produced 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste – equivalent to the mass of 620,000 Eiffel Towers or 60 million blue whales. Shockingly, only 9 per cent of this plastic waste was recycled and 79 per cent went to landfill or found its way into the environment. The remaining 12 per cent was incinerated. https://goo.gl/sUUucV
[4] Figures released by the Irish Business Against Litter in August revealed that only 16 per cent of coastal areas and waterways are clean, while numerous All-Ireland Coastwatch Surveys have found plastic bottles at the majority of coastal sites surveyed.
[5] A recent study in Plos One found that plastic used in everyday items such as plastic bags emit greenhouse gases – including methane – when exposed to sunlight. https://goo.gl/Jesc6A
[6] Ireland is currently the top producer of plastic waste in Europe, producing 61kg of plastic waste per person each year. It is estimated that every day two million disposable coffee cups are going into landfills in Ireland. https://tinyurl.com/y3g8tfrj
[7] Similar schemes are a great success across Europe. In Lithuania, for example, 1.2 billion units of plastic beverage containers have been returned since the scheme launched in 2016. https://goo.gl/bWw5Lp
[8 ] In April 2018, the former Minister for the Environment, Denis Naughten TD, said that the Government did not plan to introduce a levy on single-use compostable coffee cups as retailers move to introduce compostable cups: https://tinyurl.com/yylnofyw
[9] Compostable cups require commercial composting to biodegrade and most end up in general landfill anyway due to a lack of public awareness on how to properly dispose of them. In addition, if compostable cups are placed in recycling bins, they can end up contaminating recycled paper streams and end up in incineration or landfill alongside traditional disposable cups.
[10] A study from the University of Cardiff that found that a levy is more effective than an incentive such as a discount for bringing your own cup, but that the two together is even more effective. https://tinyurl.com/y6dkk3rs
[11] Environment Fund. Accounts 2017: https://tinyurl.com/y6gpyrz8
[12] Commission welcomes European Parliament adoption of new rules on single–use plastics to reduce marine litter: https://tinyurl.com/y4hssx26