EUWID - Recycling and Waste Management

Irish Minister for Environment John Gormley launched a consultation on his long-awaited waste policy late last week. An outgrowth of the international waste policy study released by the Department for Environment, Heritage and Local Government late last year, the policy was intended to provide environmental protection, reduce the cost of waste services and drive investment in technology and jobs in the waste sector, said the Department for Environment. The new policy would introduce additional levies for landfill and incineration was well as service standards for the waste management sector. Additional draft regulations published earlier in the week would require separate food collections for households beginning next year for the largest cities as of July 2011, expanding to include all urban areas by the start of 2012.