8 November 2006

Environment

Progress on Newspaper Recycling

Ciarán Cuffe asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the communications and meetings his Department have had recently with representatives of the newspaper industry in relation to the establishment of a producer responsibility recycling scheme

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. Roche):
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. Roche): A Joint Industry Taskforce, comprising the Regional Newspapers Association of Ireland (RNAI), Irish Retail Newsagents Association (IRNA), Newspread and Eason Wholesale Ltd, and co-ordinated by National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI) was established and has been engaged in negotiations with my Department. The aim of these discussions with the stakeholders, which are continuing, is to develop a producer responsibility initiative for the recovery and recycling of newspapers and magazines.