The data for 2021 was published in a report by the EPA on 28 November and shows that 41% of all municipal waste was recycled in 2021. This means the country is unlikely to hit the EU’s 55% recycling target by 2025. This target rises to 60% by 2030 and 65% by 2035.
The EPA report explained that Ireland’s waste generation levels are continuing to rise and “Ireland is failing to make sufficient inroads towards key EU recycling targets that apply from 2025 onwards”.
This includes EU waste recycling targets for municipal waste, total packaging and plastic packaging wastes.
Packaging
In 2021, high levels of waste generation were recorded across key waste streams such as construction and demolition waste, which increased
by 10% and packaging waste which increased by 9%.
Ireland’s overall packaging recycling rate was 59% in 2021, against a 65% target by 2025.
For plastic packaging, Ireland is signed up to a target to record a 50% plastic packaging target by 2025. The data shows this stands at 28% in 2021.
For WEEE, Ireland recorded a 64% recycling rate in 2021, compared with a target of 65%, following a 10% rise in 2021. It has a target to collect 65% by 2025.
‘Valuable materials’
David Flynn, director of the EPA’s office of environmental sustainability, said: “We continue to throw away far too much, wasting valuable materials.
“We live on a resource-finite planet and resource extraction causes greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss and water stress. To reduce these impacts, we must accelerate our transition from a linear economy to a circular, more resource-efficient economy. Right now, we need to focus on avoiding waste. That means reusing construction waste materials where possible, becoming better at segregating our municipal waste and vastly improving the recycling of packaging materials.”
Export
69% of packaging waste was also shipped overseas for treatment. The report highlights that this reliance underscores the nation’s “vulnerability to international market fluctuations and the need for bolstering domestic waste treatment infrastructure”.
16% of municipal waste was disposed to landfill in 2021, while 41.5% of municipal waste was treated by energy recovery through incineration. Of this, 382,000 tonnes was exported for incineration.
Commenting on the findings from the report Warren Phelan, programme manager of the EPA’s circular economy programme said: “Ireland is overly reliant on the export of waste for treatment and we are vulnerable to shocks and changes in international markets. We do not have enough facilities for the treatment of non-hazardous and hazardous waste which are missed opportunities to capture the energy and economic value of these wastes.”
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