Review Of The Producer Responsibility Initiative Model In ... - Repak

1. INTRODUCTION.
1.1 Purpose.
The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (DECLG)
intends to conduct a wide ranging review of the existing producer responsibility (PR)
agreements which are currently in operation in Ireland and the potential for the
introduction of additional producer responsibility initiatives to help Ireland to meet its
environmental obligations.
This review will examine:
The operation of the existing producer responsibility agreements;
the scope for additional measures to improve the effectiveness of the existing
producer responsibility agreements; and
the potential to introduce further producer responsibility initiatives for the
management of additional waste streams.
The overall purpose of this review is to assess the nature and level of the challenges
which are currently facing the existing Producer Responsibility Agreements as well as the
forthcoming challenges that are expected to arise in the management of various waste
streams. It is anticipated that the findings and recommendations from the review will form
the basis for the development of robust producer responsibility initiatives that will enable
Ireland to operate successfully in meeting our domestic and EU environmental obligations
in the medium to long term.
1.2 Background.
The polluter pays principle is a fundamental principle of environmental protection. It
suggests that waste generators should pay the full costs of waste management
services provided including collection, treatment and disposal. Responsibility for the
costs of waste management focuses attention on the implications of waste generation
and also provides a direct economic incentive for waste prevention. Application of the
principle also ensures that the waste management costs arising during the life of a
product are internalised in the price charged to consumers. Such costs can be
minimised where materials and products are managed in an environmentally effective
manner throughout their life cycle. The Waste Management Act, 1996 established a
legislative basis for producer responsibility initiatives (PRIs).
The principal PRIs are in the areas of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE),
batteries, packaging, end-of-life vehicles (ELVs), tyres and farm plastics. The majority of
these PRI schemes have operated very successfully and have enabled Ireland to reach
our domestic and EU recycling targets. They have also successfully contributed to Ireland
meeting our overall environmental goals and have diverted substantial amounts of waste
from landfill.
PRIs allow producers to devise schemes that have the capacity to fulfill the basic
objectives of waste management legislation without resort to a ”command and control”
approach. For some waste streams, producers in Ireland have developed a
Compliance Scheme approach to meet general objectives which would otherwise be
imposed by detailed regulatory requirements. These Compliance Schemes enable
business to use its expertise to devise workable, effective and least cost arrangements
that are sensitive both to commercial and environmental requirements. They also have
the advantage of promoting a pro-active attitude by business and facilitating an
accelerated and smoother achievement of objectives. The most wide-ranging
compliance schemes in Ireland are for packaging waste, WEEE and batteries – in
these cases, the compliance scheme operates under an approval granted by the
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