Irish businesses are falling short when it comes to properly segregating waste, a new study by environmental non-profit Repak has found.
According to the findings, some 40% of businesses are either non-compliant with Ireland’s national ‘three-bin system’ or are uncertain about their compliance.
Of these, close to a third (29%) acknowledge that their workplaces do not meet the standard, while 11% are unsure about compliance status.
A ‘critical’ measure
“Every business in Ireland has a duty to meet the three-bin requirement, not just because it is a legal requirement, but because it is critical to Ireland’s environmental goals,” Zoe Kavanagh, CEO of Repak, commented.
“By failing to recycle properly, workplaces are not only failing to meet commercial recycling regulations but are also undermining Ireland’s efforts to create a circular economy and achieve future EU recycling targets.”
The ‘three-bin system’ was introduced to Ireland in 2023, and requires all businesses to implement three separate bin collections for waste segregation, residual waste, mixed dry recyclables, and bio-waste.
This aligns with Regulation 5 of the European Union (Packaging) Regulations 2014, and is essential to ensuring Ireland achieves its 2025 recycling target of recycling at least 55% of all plastic packaging waste. However, the reported non-compliance poses a significant challenge to achieving these goals.
‘Resolve to Recycle… Better’
Repak has launched a new campaign, ‘Resolve to Recycle…Better’, which aims to address this issue by encouraging businesses and consumers to prioritise improved recycling practices as part of their New Year’s resolutions.
According to Repak, despite an additional €1 million in commercial funding in 2024, commercial plastic recycling rates have declined, underscoring a gap in workplace recycling practices. Read more here.
