The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, has warned businesses they will have to "dig deeper into their pockets" to help pay for the cost of recovering and recycling packaging waste.
Speaking at the Repak Annual Awards ceremony in the Berkeley Court Hotel this evening Mr Cullen said: "It behoves those who produce waste to meet the cost of its recovery and recycling and we cannot continue to rely on central Government to fund the recycling of waste.
"Business must reflect on the fact that a considerable amount of State funding goes into waste management, including the recovery and recycling sectors.
"If producers provide packaging which is difficult to recycle, it will come at a price and that price will be borne by business. This may make you uncomfortable but that is my job.
"The challenge of waste is not going to go away. But doing more and doing it better is the solution".
