Ireland‘s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said that the country’s recycling efforts have stagnated, with no improvement seen for a decade, while waste generation has risen by 20% in the same period.
According to the EPA’s latest Circular Economy and Waste Statistics Highlights Report, Ireland generated 15.7 million tonnes of waste in 2022, however the municipal recycling rate remains at 41%.
This means that the country is ‘almost certain’ to miss EU municipal and packaging recycling targets for 2025.
Progress ‘stalling’
“Ireland’s progress towards a circular economy is stalling,” commented David Flynn, director of the office of environmental sustainability, EPA. “Current measures to prevent waste, to promote reuse and to encourage recycling are not enough to meet mandatory municipal waste and plastic packaging targets.
“The challenge for Ireland is to reverse these trends and significantly reduce waste production and increase reuse and recycling. Strong implementation of existing policies and the introduction of new measures that support investment in new circular economy infrastructure will help move us away from a wasteful linear economy.”
The construction sector is a major contributor to waste in Ireland, with construction and demolition waste accounting for half of all waste, although this decreased by 8% in 2022 to 8.3 million tonnes.
Municipal waste, meanwhile, which includes household and other waste, remains relatively static, with 15% being sent to landfills and 43% treated by energy recovery via incineration.
Packaging waste remained unchanged at 1.2 million tonnes, however there was a slight improvement in plastic packaging recycling, with 32% of plastic packaging recycled in 2022, compared to 28% in 2021.
Deposit Return Scheme
Since the EPA data was compiled the introduction of a new Deposit Return Scheme for single-use plastics, including bottles, has been implemented to further improve recycling rates. A collection rate of 49% was achieved prior to the introduction of the new Deposit Return Scheme, the EPA said.
“Ireland’s economy is characterised by a high consumption of raw materials,” added Warren Phelan, programme manager of the EPA’s Circular Economy Programme. “However deeper change is needed right across the economy to accelerate the transition to a more circular economy.
“Effective regulation, incentives and enforcement are required to influence businesses and consumers to adopt best practices in production, supply, purchasing, use and reuse of goods, products and services.” Read more here.
Ireland’s recycling rate has not improved in over a decade. The latest EPA waste stats from 2022 show we’re producing too much waste and that we'll likely miss recycling targets. https://t.co/H6FjNBQJAB#LetsGetCircular pic.twitter.com/4oake2bb3t
— EPA Ireland (@EPAIreland) December 19, 2024
