Attitudes to waste management need to be radically transformed, according to the Minister of State for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Dan Wallace.
Announcing details of the second annual National Environment Management Conference, Mr Wallace said attitudes towards waste were beginning to change. "With the increasing amount of waste being generated as a consequence of the recent high levels of economic growth, a new innovative approach to waste management is required," he said.
Mr Wallace acknowledged that waste management in the State was poor, pointing to the findings of the Environmental Protection Agency's National Waste Database Report for 1998.
"Broadly speaking, its findings largely confirmed what we already knew, by pointing to increased waste generation, limited waste management infrastructure and considerable scope for improved recovery and recycling of waste," the Minister said.
The conference, Waste - 21st Century Solutions and Opportunities, is organised by the Dundalk Chamber of Commerce and will take place in the Nuremore Hotel, Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan on October 3rd and 4th.