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Sustainable Resource Use, Consumption and Waste
63
Biodegradable Municipal Waste
Biodegradable municipal waste
(BMW) comprises those elements
of the household, commercial and
cleansing waste streams that will rot
or degrade biologically. The main
constituents of the biodegradable
proportion of municipal waste are
typically parks and garden waste,
food waste, paper, card and textiles.
The quantity of BMW generated
in 2010 was 1.8 million tonnes,
of which 0.86 million tonnes was
disposed at landfill. This represents
a 42% decrease on that landfilled
since 2007. The fall in municipal
waste generation; the increased
home composting and kerbside
collection for treatment of organic
waste; and the ongoing diversion
to recovery of paper and card
are contributing to this excellent
result. In 2010, 35% of houses on
a kerbside collection service had
an organics bin service (three bins).
However, the availability of the third
bin varies hugely across the State,
with a 10% or less penetration in
15 Local Authority areas.
Ireland has met the July 2010 EU
Landfill Directive target for diverting
biodegradable waste from landfill.
However, sustained effort will
be required to ensure the 2013
and 2016 targets are met: Ireland
is currently 250,000 t in excess
of the 2013 limit of 610,000 t
biodegradable waste disposed to
landfill, and 433,000 t from the 2016
target of 427,000 t. It is anticipated
that waste-to-energy incineration
at merchant incinerators or at large
energy units attached to industrial
facilities (e.g. cement manufacture)
will play a role in achieving these targets.
Producer Responsibility
Initiatives
Ireland has met and surpassed all
statutory packaging recovery targets
set since 2001. A recovery rate of
74% is reported for packaging
waste in 2010, surpassing the EU
target of 60% due in 2011 (Figure
5.5). However, Ireland is failing to
meet the 2006 EU targets for re-use/
recycling/recovery of ELVs (Figure 5.6).
In 2010, a total of 45 thousand
tonnes of WEEE was collected for
recovery. This equates to 10 kg per
capita, exceeding the modest EU
target of 4 kg per capita and putting
Ireland in the top five of European
performers in this area. Ireland has
exceeded the interim EU Directive
target of collection for recycling of
25% of portable batteries placed
on the market.
Figure 5.4
Municipal Waste Management: Ireland and EU 27 Average (Source: EPA, EuroStat)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Landfilled
Ireland
EU 27 (EuroStat)
Recycled
Incineration/Use as a Fuel
%
Figure 5.5
Recovery of Packaging Waste, 2001–2010, and Progress towards EU Targets (Source: EPA)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2002
2001
Recovery rate (%)
2001 Target:
25%
2005 Target: 50%
2011 Target: 60%
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010