asked the Minister for the Environment the progress that has been made in the recycling of glass, metals, domestic and industrial waste; and if he is in consultation with any local authorities or groups of authorities to achieve improvements in the field of the recycling of these materials.

My Department's concern with recycling arises mainly in the context of the waste collection and disposal services operated by local authorities. Recycling potential is primarily a matter for industry and is largely dictated by the economics of materials recovery and re-use.

Local authorities are empowered to consider any possibilities of promoting or assisting in recycling that may arise in the course of their waste collection and disposal operations and my Department have consistently urged them to facilitate recycling proposals in any way they can.

A number of local authorities have made provision to assist in the recovery of waste oils and scrap metal and in the case of waste oils it is estimated that about 1½ million gallons were recovered in 1983. The potential to increase this recovery rate exists and local authorities have recently been asked to further assist by providing special receptacles at their tipheads, as well as encouraging garages or other relatively large scale oil users to provide facilities for periodic collection.

While local authorities are not directly involved in glass recycling, the Irish Glass Bottle Company operates bottle banks in a number of areas and a significant quantity of glass is recycled by merchants and through voluntary organisations. The voluntary organisations are playing an important role and this must be taken into account in considering local authority involvement.