The Minister for the Environment has called for further action on waste prevention during an address to the inaugural meeting of the National Waste Prevention Committee (NWPC) in Dublin.
Mr Cullen welcomed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Database Report for 2002 that showed a slowdown in the generation of municipal waste, which grew by less than 1 per cent in 2002 with a 4.5 per cent drop in the amount going to landfill.
He said that decoupling waste generation from economic growth remained a "formidable challenge" but that there was now a recognition of a need for integration of natural resources and waste considerations in production processes and product design.
Mr Cullen said there was a "clear recognition that as consumer society becomes more prosperous demand for products will continue to grow.
"As we all know, many consumer products now have a shorter lifespan and their growing technological sophistication and use of a wide range of substances increases the risks to the environment and health," he added.
Mr Cullen said the pursuit of policies and strategies that would achieve greater resource efficiency, the promotion of eco-design based on a life-cycle approach were required.
The NWPC will monitor the development of the National Waste Prevention Programme. It is chaired by the EPA and will be comprised of representatives from a number of public bodies and relevant stakeholders.
The NWPC has taken over the responsibilities of the National Hazardous Waste Management Plan Committee, which has been subsumed into the NWPC.
