Vol. 479 No. 1
42 Miss M. Wallace asked the Minister for the Environment the steps, if any, he is taking to address the fact that Ireland is using landfill for 93 per cent of municipal solid waste while other countries such as the Netherlands are using landfill for only 28 per cent of municipal solid waste; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12389/97]
43 Miss M. Wallace asked the Minister for the Environment the percentage of municipal solid waste being disposed of to landfill by county; the incentives and support, if any, which are available from his Department to individual counties to reduce the percentage of municipal solid waste going to landfill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12390/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 42 and 43 together.
Information regarding the quantities of waste disposed to landfill sites on a county basis is contained in the National Waste Database Report 1995, published by the Environmental Protection Agency. Copies of the report are available in the Oireachtas Library.
The report Environment in the European Union 1995, published by the European Environment Agency, indicates that some 57 per cent of municipal waste in the European Union is disposed of to landfill, with most of the balance going to incineration.
As regards measures to support the diversion of Irish municipal waste from landfill, I refer to the replies to Questions Nos. 104 and 127 of 4 March and Nos. 63, 137 and 176 of 15 April 1997.
