Ireland’s Recycling Rate Has Not Improved In A Decade.

Ireland’s recycling rate has not improved in a decade: it is time to move away from a wasteful linear economy.

• In 2022, Ireland generated 15.7 million tonnes of waste, equivalent to 8kg per person every day.
• Ireland’s annual waste generation has grown by over 20% in the last decade.
• Ireland is now almost certain to miss EU municipal and packaging recycling targets for 2025.
• Ireland’s municipal recycling rate remains stagnant at 41% with no significant change in 10 years.
• Many construction activities are highly waste intensive, accounting for half of all waste generated.
• Ireland has a waste infrastructure gap with over 1.2 million tonnes of municipal waste exported to other countries in 2022.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published the Circular Economy and Waste Statistics Highlights Report 2022. This report identifies that Ireland generated 15.7 million tonnes of waste in 2022, which although a decrease on 2021 figures, still shows a growth of over 20% in the last decade.

Commenting on the report, Mr David Flynn, Director of the Office of Environmental Sustainability, EPA said: “Today’s report from the EPA shows that Ireland’s progress towards a circular economy is stalling. 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.”

Summary of data from the key sectors.

Construction and demolition waste:

• Half of all waste generated in Ireland is construction and demolition waste. Most of this (85%) is soil and stone waste. Construction and demolition waste decreased by 8% to 8.3 million tonnes, driven primarily by reductions in soil and stone waste.

Municipal waste:

• The total amount of municipal waste is relatively static at 3.2 million tonnes. This is a 1% increase from 3.17 million tonnes in 2021 and the same level as recorded in 2020.
• Some 15% of municipal waste was disposed to landfill in 2021. Some 43% of municipal waste was treated by energy recovery through incineration.
• Some 66% of Irish households had access to a brown bin for food and organic waste in 2022. This is a decrease of 3% from 2021. Regulatory changes in 2023 mean that waste collectors are now obliged to provide all households with a brown bin.

Packaging (including plastic packaging)

• Total packaging waste remained unchanged at 1.2 million tonnes in 2022.
• Some 32% of plastic packaging generated in Ireland in 2022 was recycled, up from 28% in 2021.

Single-use Plastics

• Some 30,680 tonnes of single-use plastic bottles were placed on the market in 2022. A collection rate of 49% was achieved prior to the introduction of the new Deposit Return Scheme.

The report shows that over the last 10 years Ireland’s recycling rate has stagnated and mandatory targets for municipal and plastic packaging are at a high risk of not being met. Currently Ireland’s municipal waste recycling rate is unchanged at 41%, with a requirement to be at 55% by 2025. In addition, whilst recycling of packaging waste is 60%, this must reach 65% by 2025. In 2022 the plastic packaging recycling was 32%, up from 28% in 2021, however the recycling target for plastic packaging is 50 per cent by 2025.
Positively, regarding construction and demolition (C&D) waste, 82% is recovered, the majority being used or recovered in back filling for land restoration. This is in excess of the 70% recovery rate required.

The report also highlights that Ireland’s capacity to collect and treat waste is vulnerable and underperforming, with an over-reliance on other countries to treat our recycling materials and general municipal waste. In 2022, 38% (1.2 million tonnes) of all municipal waste was exported for treatment. This included 369,000 tonnes of residual waste exported for energy recovery through incineration.

Commenting on the report findings Mr Warren Phelan, Programme Manager of the EPA’s Circular Economy Programme said: “Ireland’s economy is characterised by a high consumption of raw materials. 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.”
The EPA’s national waste statistics are published HERE on the EPA website.
The Circular Economy and Waste Statistics Highlights Report 2022 is available HERE on the EPA website.