[ad_1]
Banning “buy one get one free” food deals in supermarkets, taxes on cheap clothes, and fines for families who don’t sort garbage are some of the government’s radical plans to drastically reduce waste from Ireland.
Launching the country’s national waste policy for the next five years, Communications, Climate Action and Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said it would put Ireland “at the forefront of the EU’s efforts” to create a more sustainable society. green.
“We all know that our current model of production and consumption is unsustainable in terms of resource use, waste disposal, climate change and loss of biodiversity,” he said.
“What we have to do is rethink our relationship with our things: how we produce, use and dispose of them. This plan sets out how we will do it in a way that benefits people and the planet. “
As part of efforts to cut Ireland’s food waste in half by 2030, the government is considering banning “the sale of multi-buy packs to avoid overbought” in supermarkets.
Officials were unable to identify exactly what types of food or products would be targeted, but suggested “buy one get one free” offers and large bags of “20 pieces of fruit sold at a price well below cost” as examples.
Research shows that supermarket promotions are a “major factor” in shoppers’ food waste, as much of it ends up being thrown away, they say.
Use by date
A growing trend toward “buy one get one free” offers contributes to 30 percent of food waste, said a spokeswoman for Ryan’s department.
“Obviously, these measures will need to be carefully calibrated to ensure that they do not affect low-income households or those that make full use of multi-purchase offers to feed their families.”
Consideration is also being given to prohibiting the destruction of edible food before its expiration date and making it easier for retailers to donate unused food.
Under the plan, “fast fashion” levies would be applied, targeting cheap clothes sold by large retail chains.
Philip Nugent, deputy secretary of Ryan’s department, said that the average EU citizen buys 57 new clothes every year, which has implications for the generation of waste and the resources needed to produce it.
“Obviously we are consuming much more than we need, we are buying much more than we need,” he said.
The government is exploring the “potential of the application of economic instruments to influence behavior change” with respect to fashion habits, he said.
“Levies are basically what we are talking about,” he said, citing taxes on landfills and plastic bags as one of Ireland’s most successful measures to reduce waste.
In addition to clothing, textiles include footwear and interior furniture such as rugs, curtains, bedding, and furniture. Such materials will also be banned from general trash containers, landfills, and incineration.
“What we really want to encourage here is that people buy less often, buy quality instead of quantity,” Nugent said.
Addressing concerns that the measures could harm the poorest people the most, he said they would be designed to target only those who “overconsume fast fashion.”
Separating garbage
On fining homeowners for failing to properly separate their trash into different bins, Nugent said “the possible introduction of modest flat payment advisories” could ensure that “behavior change is properly driven and implemented.”
A figure for the possible fine has not yet been set.
Mr. Nugent said he expected fines to be issued “infrequently” for “flagrant” violations of the requirements. ”
Recent figures from the Environmental Protection Agency suggest that one-fifth of waste in household recycling bins should not be there, and 70 percent of waste in general commercial garbage bins should be in recycling or organic bins. .
A deposit and return plan for plastic bottles and aluminum cans will be launched in autumn 2022, rewarding consumers for returning them through “reverse vending machines”, following a public consultation that will begin in a few weeks.
Single-use plastic, including cotton buds, silverware, plates, stirrers, toothpicks, straws, and Styrofoam containers, will be banned from July next year.
The so-called “latte tax” on the use of disposable cups, to be introduced in 2022, will be followed by a possible ban to eradicate the 22,000 cups of coffee that are discarded in Ireland every day.
Similar levies are also proposed on cold drinks, such as soft drinks and beer at concerts and sporting events, while fast food and take-out containers, including those at gas stations and restaurants, will be subject to “environmental levies. ”.
The government also plans to expand the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, which currently charges manufacturers of electrical goods, tires and batteries with a role in their eventual elimination.
Tobacco manufacturers will be subject to the scheme by 2023, and manufacturers of balloons, wet wipes and gear will be included by the end of 2024. Producers of textiles, mattresses, paint, medicines and hazardous agricultural waste may also be included.
Ryan said the plan transfers responsibility for the waste to producers.
“It’s not about putting everything on the consumer, it’s across the industry, the people who provide the products have to have greater responsibility,” he said.
Food waste
As part of efforts to halve the state’s food waste by 2030, the government is also considering banning the sale of multi-buy packs to avoid overbought in supermarkets.
Officials could not identify exactly what types of food or products would be the target in this, but they suggested “buy one get one free” food deals and large bags of “20 pieces of fruit at a price below cost” as examples.
On the possible fine for homeowners for not properly separating their garbage in different containers, Mr. Nugent said that “the possible introduction of modest fixed payment notices” could ensure that “behavior change is promoted and implemented properly” .
A figure for the possible fine incurred has not yet been set.
Mr. Nugent said he expected fixed penalties to be issued “infrequently” for “flagrant” violations of the requirements to properly separate waste before it is collected by container companies.
[ad_2]