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Ireland’s Environment 2012
104
shown in Table 8.2. As noted in
Chapter 5, the increasing levy
together with the impact of the
recession is driving post-consumption
management options up the waste
hierarchy towards more sustainable
behaviours, with much improved
waste recovery and recycling evident
in recent years.
Table 8.2
Landfill Levy Rates
2002–2013
Effective Date
€/tonne
1 June 2002
15
1 July 2008
20
31 December 2009
25
1 February 2010
30
1 September 2011
50
July 2012
65
July 2013
75
Improved waste recycling and
recovery decreases the amount
of waste that is landfilled, while
reducing the extraction and use
of materials used in the economy
(EEA, 2012a). The most recent
national waste statistics reported
by the EPA (EPA, 2012a) show that
in 2010 approximately 71% of
households in Ireland are serviced by
a waste collection service. Of these
households:
n
5% have a single-bin (residuals
bin) service only
n
61% have a two-bin service only
(residuals and dry recyclables)
n
34% have a three-bin service
(residuals, dry recyclables and
organics)
Extending the use of weight-based
charging for the residuals bin would
incentivise householders to increase
the separation of waste at source.
The tonnage of future streams of
waste is linked to the performance
of the economy. Using the ISus
model, it is possible to project
future tonnages of municipal waste
generation for the period up to 2025
depending on different economic
recovery scenarios. For example,
using a prediction of a growth rate
not exceeding 1% per annum, it is
anticipated that the total municipal
waste generated could increase by
c. 825,000 tonnes within the next
15 years (Figure 8.2) (EPA, 2012a).
A similar pattern emerges for other
waste streams. In the coming years
it will be important that waste
prevention and resource conservation
become embedded across all sectors
of the Irish economy, so as to assist in
the decoupling of waste generation
in Ireland from any future economic
growth. The current recession
affords the opportunity to introduce
new technology and processes
to improve the sustainability of
waste management in advance of
the forecasted growth in waste
generation.
Management and Use
of Natural Resources
Water
Efficient use of water resources is
vital both for environmental growth
and for environmental protection. As
well as supplying household water
requirements, economic sectors
such as agriculture, energy, industry
and tourism depend on reliable
freshwater resources. A sustainable
approach to water resource
management requires that society
conserve water and use it more
efficiently (EEA, 2012a). It has been
estimated that by 2007 at least 11%
of Europe’s population and 17% of
its territory had been affected by
water scarcity, putting the cost of
droughts in Europe over the past 30
years at €100 billion. This situation
is expected to deteriorate further if
temperatures keep rising as a result
of climate change (EC, 2012a)
The EC-proposed Blueprint to
Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources
(EC, 2012a) has the long-term
objective of ensuring availability of
good-quality water for sustainable
and equitable water use in line with
Figure 8.1
Landfill Level and the Disposal of Municipal Solid Waste to Landfill (Source: EPA)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
1998
1995
€ / %
Landfill Levy (€)
% MSW Disposed to Landfill