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Environment and the Economy
103
The remainder of this chapter
reviews current progress and future
challenges for development of the
green economy. It broadly follows
the thematic approach of the
EU
Sustainable Development Strategy
and the draft
Framework for
Sustainable Development for Ireland
.
It considers the current initiatives,
challenges and opportunities for
the green economy and resource
efficiency in the context of
material consumption and waste;
management and use of natural
resources; clean and efficient
energy; sustainable transport; and
sustainable agriculture.
Material
Consumption
and Waste
The EC Roadmap for a resource-
efficient Europe (EC, 2011a) noted
that changing the consumption
patterns of private and public
purchasers will help drive resource
efficiency and have the potential
to generate direct net cost savings.
The use of material resources in the
EU as a whole peaked at 8.3 billion
tonnes (measured as Domestic
Material Consumption – DMC),
declining to 7.3 billion tonnes in
2009 (EEA, 2012a). The European
Commission (EC, 2011a) noted that
through the use of efficient and
cleaner production systems, this level
of material use could be reduced,
while boosting competitiveness.
Furthermore, improving the re-use
of raw materials through greater
‘industrial symbiosis’ (where the
waste of some firms is used as a
resource for others) could save
€1.4bn a year and generate €1.6bn
in sales across the EU.
The use of resources and the
generation of waste are different
sides of the same coin. Each year
in the European Union on average
only 40% of solid waste is re-used
or recycled, with the rest going to
landfill or incineration. Improving
waste management provides
opportunities to improve the use
of resources, open up new markets
and jobs and at the same time
reduce pressures on the environment.
In 2010, almost 1.5 million tonnes
of municipal waste was sent to
landfill in Ireland. Much of this
material has the potential to be
re-used or recovered.
Ireland is legally obligated to
improve its use of resources and
waste management practices.
The Waste Framework Directive
incorporates a wide range of
measures in waste prevention
and recovery, as well as re-use of
waste materials as a raw material
substitute. It also requires Member
States to take measures to encourage
separate collection of the putrescible
portion of biodegradable wastes,
whereas the Landfill Directive places
specific targets on the diversion of
biodegradable municipal waste from
landfill. The Packaging Directive,
the WEEE Directive, the End of Life
Vehicles Directive, and the Batteries
Directive are among a host of EU
legislative measures that obligate
the management of waste materials
in a more sustainable manner.
A range of other policy measures
have also supported the sustainable
use of resources. The plastic bag tax
is a particularly good example of
a financial incentive that changed
behaviour. More recently, the
Waste Management (Food Waste)
Regulations 2009 (SI 508 of 2009)
places obligations on major food
establishments to segregate food
waste for separate collection and
processing, a policy that is intended
to contribute to the targets on the
diversion of biodegradable waste
from landfill.
The landfill levy is a key national
policy aimed at incentivising the
diversion of all materials from landfill
disposal. Since its introduction in
2002, it has been mirrored by a
downward trend in the percentage
of municipal waste disposed (Figure
8.1). In April 2011 the Minister for
Environment, Community and Local
Government outlined proposed
landfill levy rates until 2013, as