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Ireland’s Environment 2012
62
Municipal waste generated per
person in 2010 amounted to 621 kg
(800 kg in 2006) compared to an EU
average of 513 kg (EuroStat, 2012;
EPA, 2012). However, definitions of
municipal waste vary widely across
the EU, so the statistics are not
definitively comparable. Nevertheless,
a national reduction of 22% in
municipal waste generation per
person in four years (2006 to 2010)
is a significant achievement. Recovery
rates for municipal waste have been
improving, reaching 42% in 2010
with the balance of 58% being
landfilled. In 2010, Ireland’s recycling
rate (excluding energy recovery) was
38% (Figure 5.4), which is close to
the EU average of 42% (EuroStat,
2012). Almost 77% of the recyclable
municipal wastes were exported for
material recovery.
Household Waste
Household waste generated per
person in Ireland in 2010 amounted
to 368 kg which is considerably
less than the EU average of 444
kg (EuroStat, 2012; EPA, 2012a).
It would appear that household
waste generation is more strongly
influenced by disposable income
than by population changes. The
proportion of household waste
recycled has been increasing over
the past few years despite the
overall reduction in the amount
generated (Figure 5.3). The
challenging economic circumstances
for households, together with the
financial impact of the landfill levy
and availability of source separate
collections, have driven the rise in
recovery in recent years. However,
weight-based charging (especially
for the residual or black bin) is not
well developed across the State
and therefore a major incentive for
even stronger growth in household
waste recovery achievement is largely
absent.
Commercial Waste
Contrary to the trends in household
waste recovery, recovery rates for
commercial waste have been falling
in line with economic trends and the
overall decline in commercial waste
generation (Figures 5.2 and 5.3).
This is a difficult trend to explain,
and it may be that commercial
activities associated with high
personal consumption were
disproportionately contributing
to recycling rates up to 2007
(e.g. retail, food and entertainment).
Figure 5.3
Trends in Generation of Municipal Waste, GNP, Population and Consumption (Source: EPA, CSO)
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
Household Waste
Commercial Waste
Personal Consumption
GNP
Population
Index 2002 = 100
2004
2003
2002
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
900,000
90,000
100,000
110,000
120,000
130,000
140,000
150,000
160,000
170,000
180,000
Household Waste Recovered
Commercial Waste Recovered
GNP (€ million)
Tonnage
GNP (€million at constant market prices)
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010