New legislation likely for disposal of paint tins

At the moment, empty paint tins cannot be disposed of in Galway City – private collection companies are not allowed accept them, and the Council’s own depot at Sandy Road has not accepted them for several years.

At a presentation to city councillors on the plan, Kevin Swift, Regional Waste Coordinator for Connacht-Ulster, said ‘Producer Responsibility Initiatives’ (PRIs) for packaging and white goods such as old washing machines, as well as end-of-life vehicles, had been hugely successful.

He said there are proposals for PRIs for medicines and paints, and there will be new initiatives coming into play over the period of the waste plan.

A motion by Cllr Frank Fahy (FG) that national legislation be introduced so that old paints and chemicals can be returned to their point of sale was passed unanimously.

The 200-page Draft Plan is currently on public display and open for submissions until January 30, with the final plan set to be published in April.

Mr Swift explained that the Connacht-Ulster Region (Connacht and Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan) has a population of 840,000 and there are three key targets in the Draft Plan: ■         A 1% reduction per annum in the quantity of household waste generated per capita over the period. ■         Eliminate the direct disposal of unprocessed residual municipal waste to landfill ■         Preparing for reuse and recycling rate of 50% of municipal waste by 2020.

However, Cllr Catherine Connolly (Ind) branded the plan “a complete pretence” and said she and her colleagues were “eunuchs in the Council” because they had no powers.

She complained that the city had been punished for its massively successful response to recycling initiatives – which far exceeded expectations – because waste management responsibilities have been taken away from the Council.

She said millions had been spent on consultants who said a recycling rate of 45% would be the highest achievable – however, a six-week project in Renmore achieved a 70% rate, and at the moment, between 56% and “mid sixties” is being achieved across the city.

“Rather than being rewarded, we were punished, by having waste management being taken away from us. Because we pushed recycling and showed the country, the power was taken from us. It’s a sham,” said Cllr Connolly.

Mr Swift said recycling had been very successful, but recycling as a practice is not the best approach.

“The better option is reuse or prevention. That’s where a lot of emphasis will be,” said Mr Swift.

The Draft Plan can be downloaded from www.curwmo.ie