National Waste Action Plan
In 2020, the Irish government released its new Waste Action Plan with provisions to:
- institute a “latte levy” on single-use coffee cups as of 2022 to incentivise the use of reusable alternatives. This measure should also extend to other cold drinks cups;
- introduce bans on condiment and sugar sachets, small hotel toiletries, disposable plastic cups (starting with a trial banning them first for on-site consumption in selected towns, higher education institutions and other transport/commercial centres) and non-medical wipes;
- introduce measures to the unnecessary use of plastic cups (such as in sit-in cafes and large-scale events) and to oblige retailers to offer a price reduction to consumers bringing reusable cups;
- set up a deposit return system (DRS) for plastic bottles and aluminium cans by the end of 2022, in close collaboration with the food and drink industries, retailers, waste collectors and treatment facilities.
While Member States are not allowed to stop packaging being placed on the market, the EU single-use plastics directive does give them the discretion to ban packaging items under a notifiable procedure in accordance with Directive (EU) 2015/1535. Using this mechanism, Ireland has committed to banning a further range of single-use plastic items.
There are also specific provisions in the plan to research and promote reusable alternatives in partnership with stakeholders (e.g. IBEC, RAI, ISME, EPA), to stop “buy one get one free” promotions in supermarkets, and to make producers pay for 80% of the waste collection and management costs of their products/packaging under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes.