"An unfair advantage" is enjoyed by overseas online retailers such as Amazon in comparison to their Irish counterparts says Séamus Clancy, CEO of Repak Recycling. Giving click-happy Cyber Monday enthusiasts something to think about ahead of next week's online onslaught, he joined Audrey Carville on Morning Ireland to outline a loophole in Irish law that allows international firms skip much-needed fees. With waste from online retailers growing by 28% per year according to a new study, he says it's critical we address this issue now.
"27 million transactions happened from online retailers last year. That's the equivalent of placing 7,500 tons of packaging on the market in Ireland… The loophole of the law is such that there's no obligation on overseas retailers to contribute to the packaging they place on the market here, whereas retailers in Ireland contribute each year based on the packaging… Irish retail companies are actually picking up the tab for the overseas online operators and that's unfair."
Séamus says Irish companies contribute somewhere in the region of 25 million Euro a year, part of which pays for green bin services. He's appealing to the minister to consider changing regulations to make the likes of Amazon financially accountable for the waste their packaging produces.
Amazon have not responded to this recent study but they do state that all their packaging is recyclable and they strive to provide the most compact packaging possible. Séamus says these are positives, but that they need to be contributing in the same way as Irish companies.
"We welcome anything that will reduce packaging and make it more recyclable… However they place it on the market here. They don't actually contribute anything to the collection of it, anything to the recycling of it… the playing field isn't level. We have seen no interaction from Amazon or any of the major players with us or with any parties in Ireland to contribute or work with manufacturers in Ireland so we're calling on them to do the right thing as well as asking the minister if he will put in place the proper legislation."
Click here to listen to that Morning Ireland interview in full.