The Government has moved to ensure all farm plastics will be recycled instead of littering the countryside by introducing a deposit and refund scheme of £200 a tonne on producers, manufacturers and importers.
With only 40 per cent of farm plastics being recycled, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, said it was "simply unacceptable" that the beauty of the Irish countryside be blighted by silage bale wrap and sheeting being casually strewn in fields and ditches.
"Last year we recycled 6,000 tonnes of farm plastics waste, or about 40 per cent of the farm plastics placed on the market in the year 2000," said Mr Dempsey.
"We have achieved this level thanks to a scheme introduced in 1997 and while this is a much improved performance over previous years, much higher levels of recycling of farm plastics can be achieved."
The strict new regulations, which are aimed at freelance suppliers who have been supplying the market from Northern Ireland and Britain, will force them to stop supplying or join the approved body, the Irish Farm Film Producers Group, which operates a recycling scheme.
"I am determined that everyone involved plays their part in recycling greater amounts of these products. That is why I'm introducing this new scheme to replace the existing arrangements," Mr Dempsey said.
Producers, manufacturers and importers must register with and submit relevant returns to each local authority in whose area they provide farm plastics for sale, according to Mr Dempsay.
They will also have to operate a deposit and refund scheme for farm plastics they place on the market at the rate of £200 a tonne, and collect the used farm plastics waste for recycling or recovery.
Suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, traders and contractors will have to pay a refundable deposit of £200 a tonne. They will also have to provide a written statement to purchasers outlining the arrangements for the collection of waste plastic after use and the refunding of deposits paid.
They will also have to register with and submit relevant returns to each local authority in whose area they provide farm plastics for sale.
The Minister said producers participating in a waste collection and recycling scheme operated by an approved body and affiliated to the Irish Farm Film Producers Group and suppliers selling plastics supplied by IFFPG-affiliated producers, were exempted from the new regulations.
He said all producers and suppliers should be "operating on a level playing field" so the success of the farm plastics collection and recycling scheme operated by the IFFPG was not undermined.
The new regulations were intended to strengthen enforcement so there were no "free riders" in the farm plastics business.