Ireland’s Waste Volume Increases Over 20% in Decade as Recycling Rate Stalls

Over the last ten years, Ireland’s recycling rate has remained unchanged. Concurrently, the volume of waste produced has grown by over 20%. Data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicates that Ireland is “now almost certain” to fall short of its European Union municipal and packaging recycling objectives for 2025. The EPA’s recently released Circular Economy and Waste Statistics Highlights Report 2022 stated that the construction industry accounted for 50% of all waste generated in Ireland. The report additionally identified Ireland’s waste collection and treatment infrastructure as “vulnerable and underperforming,” noting that 38% (1.2 million tonnes) of all municipal waste – encompassing refuse from households and comparable commercial waste – is sent abroad for processing. Despite a 41% recycling rate for waste, this figure has not changed for multiple years. A target exists to recycle 55% of municipal waste by the year 2025. According to David Flynn, Director of the EPA, the report indicated that advancements toward a circular economy – a system where materials are utilized for the longest possible duration via reuse, repair, and repurposing prior to recycling – have ceased. “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 demonstrated a high rate of material reuse and recovery, reaching 82%. This industry aims to recover 70% of its materials, primarily through methods like backfilling or land restoration. Warren Phelan, the EPA’s Circular Economy Programme Manager, noted that Ireland’s economy is marked by a significant consumption of raw materials. “Deeper change is needed right across the economy to accelerate the transition to a more circular economy,” said Warren Phelan. “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.” Ireland’s 2022 recycling rate of 41% stands in contrast to Northern Ireland’s 49.7% for the 2022/23 period. The results of a public consultation focused on improving this rate by modifying waste collection practices are anticipated for release within the next year.