Summary: The National Hazardous Waste Management Plan is prepared and published by the Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with section 26 of the Waste Management Acts 1996 to 2008. The first Plan, originally published in 2001, will be replaced by this Plan, published in 2008.
The Environmental Protection Agency has published this National Hazardous Waste Management Plan for the period 2008 to 2012. The Plan sets out the priorities to be pursued over the next five years and beyond to improve the management of hazardous waste in the Republic of Ireland. The objectives of the Plan are:
1. To reduce the generation of hazardous waste by industry and society generally.
2. To minimise unreported hazardous waste with a view to reducing the environmental impact of this unregulated waste stream.
3. To strive for increased self-sufficiency in the management of hazardous waste and to reduce hazardous waste export.
4. To minimise the environmental, social and economic impacts of hazardous waste generation and management.
The Plan is made under section 26 of the Waste Management Acts, 1996 to 2008. A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) was carried out during the Plan's preparation. An Environmental Report was published in November 2007 for consultation as part of the SEA process. An SEA Statement has been prepared and published along with this Plan and states how the strategic environmental assessment process influenced the Plan's development.
A Proposed (draft) Plan was published for public consultation on 7 November 2007. A public information session was held in Portlaolise on 15 November 2007. A total of 58 people attended the event. The consultation period closed on 31 January 2008. A total of 60 submissions were received. A summary of the consultation process and the submissions in provided in Appendix A. In accordance with section 26(4) of the Waste Management Acts, 1996 to 2008, the submissions were taken into account in the preparation of the National Hazardous Waste Management Plan.
