Monday, 27 December 2021 | 8°C Dublin
Green Party TD Brian Leddin. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins
Hotel mini toiletries, single sachets of sugar and sauce, and wet wipes could all be banned under recommendations from TDs and senators.
T hey also say one-fifth of the floor space of larger supermarkets should be given to refillable products, and they want a law that stops packaged fruit and vegetables being sold cheaper than loose alternatives.
The recommendations are among 62 delivered to Government by the all-party Committee on Environment and Climate Action.
Committee members examined proposals for laws aimed at encouraging industry to stop creating unnecessary waste by the way they manufacture and package goods.
The laws, which will be set out in the Circular Economy Bill, are an attempt to ensure all materials used in manufacturing and packaging are reusable, recyclable, repairable or compostable.
The committee concluded the laws must be more specific in the actions they require and come with mandatory financial consequences, such as levies and tax penalties for businesses that do not comply.
Extra measures they seek include extending the plastic bag levy to shopping bags that purport to be reusable but last only several uses.
They want clearer labelling on products, particularly food packaging that claims to be compostable or biodegradable but omits the stipulation that it will break down only in an industrial-scale facility.
A ban on the chemicals known as PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) used to waterproof and greaseproof take-away food containers, is also sought, given growing global concerns over their impact on health.
The new Deposit Return Scheme for plastic drinks bottles and aluminium cans due to be rolled out next year should be extended to include glass bottles, they say.
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They also want the Government’s legal advisers to find a way to include a ‘right to repair’ on manufactured goods so companies cannot deliberately prevent basic components from being replaced or fixed when they fail.
Insurance companies and health and safety regulations also need to be brought into line so they do not attach greater liability to the use of repaired goods, they add.
Committee chair and Green Party TD Brian Leddin said new laws could be the key in ending the “take, make, waste” practices in manufacturing and packaging.
But he said some of the language in the proposals so far was too vague, the actions too limited and penalties too soft.
The committee also wants an explanation as to why a ban on prospecting for coal, lignite and oil shale in the proposed laws does not include gas.
The Department of Environment and Climate Action said: “The minister welcomes the report of the committee and looks forward to reviewing its recommendations.”
After this, it said, the full bill would be published “early in the new year”.
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