EXTENDING the ban on the sale of smoky coal to all cities is one of the central proposals in the Progressive Democrats policy document on the environment. The document also promises a long-term programme to conserve the "natural and built environment" and includes waste recycling, involving a tax on packaging, as well as an end to the use of landfills and a move to transforming waste products into energy.
Publishing the policy document, The Environment Our Greatest Asset, in Dublin yesterday, the party's spokeswoman on the environment, Ms Mairin Quill, said specific measures must be introduced to minimise waste, and clear targets in managing the problem must be set.
"We propose a tax on non-returnable beverage cans a charge on plastic bags distributed from retail outlets - 500 million such bags are distributed every year a tax on packaging used in all fast-food outlets," she said.
Her party also suggests the imposition of a standard design on all bottles so that these can be returned and re-used. It proposes the enactment of a litter law, carrying heavy penalties for breaches. "We want to make Ireland totally litter-free by the millennium," she-said.
"The Progressive Democrats in government will introduce a number of new initiatives to improve air quality and to make more information available to the public on air quality," Ms Quill added.
Dublin and Cork were no longer permitted the use of bituminous coal, and the ban must now be extended to the other major urban centres, she said.
The Environmental Protection Agency must also scientifically monitor air quality on a regular basis and publish the results.
There must also be clear information on the level of emissions from all major industrial plants while local authorities should draw up long-term traffic reduction plans to cut down on fumes in the atmosphere.
The threat to the rural environment from intensive agriculture and changing farming practices must be countered by government. The Progressive Democrats aimed to transfer 1 per cent of the agricultural budget - £15 million - into organic farming.
The party also proposes controlling overgrowing, limiting the use of artificial fertilisers, and not spreading slurry in the winter months as it runs off the land and pollutes waterways.
According to the policy document, there should be a single food quality service, a body totally independent of the Department of Agriculture which would publish regular reports on all aspects of food quality and ensure the licensing criteria for food processing, distribution and retailing were properly enforced.
It is clear that the Department has been seriously compromised by revelations made during the beef tribunal and significantly it had difficulty reassuring foreign customers about the safety of Irish beef when the BSE crisis broke," Ms Quill said.
Elaborating on the "waste-to-energy programme envisaged by the Progressive Democrats, Ms Quill said proper development could lead to the generation of many jobs. In Copenhagen 58 per cent of all waste is recycled 24 per cent is converted into energy and only 18 per cent is land filled. Ireland, which does not have a national recycling programme, sees only 4 per cent of all household waste recycled.
While it was not realistic to shut down the Sellafield reprocessing plant "overnight", the Government must strive for its ultimate closure. It should also press for a strong regulatory role by the EU in the nuclear industry.