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Sustainable Resource Use, Consumption and Waste
69
Generally, waste prevention can
be achieved either by reducing
the overall demand for goods and
services or by imposing production
efficiency through using less – or
at least less harmful – materials,
to meet reasonable human needs.
Prevention also seeks to reduce
emissions and harmful substances
in material streams and their
dissipation. It seeks to improve
resource efficiency throughout the
life-cycle of a product or service.
Prevention may require significant
changes in the production and
consumption cycle affecting
product/service design, distribution,
consumption and end-of-life
activities.
There is currently no national
resource efficiency programme;
responsibility is divided among many
actors (industry, State agencies and
programmes, Local Authorities,
etc.). In 2011, the EPA through
the STRIVE research programme
awarded funding to a research
proposal in relation to informing the
development of a national resource
efficiency strategy.
The EPA-led National Waste
Prevention Programme (NWPP) seeks
to develop capacity for resource
efficiency and waste prevention
in homes, communities and
businesses across Ireland (
www.
nwpp.ie
). Enterprise Ireland and
the Sustainable Energy Authority of
Ireland (SEAI) also have resources
and case studies on resource-efficient
practices and opportunities.
In 2011 the EPA in association with
the SEAI, IDA Ireland and Enterprise
Ireland produced a guide for private
and public enterprises on where to
access State supports in relation to
eco-efficiency initiatives (EPA, 2011c).
Such ‘joined-up’ Government action
is critical to the success of national
resource efficiency ambitions.
Environmental research has also
played an important role in informing
waste management practices and
policy. The EPA Cleaner Greener
Production Programme has provided
€2.13 million in grant aid to
businesses operating in Ireland in
the past five years for research and
development of solutions to make
their products and services more
sustainable. This support has resulted
in business innovation, marketing
advantage, cost savings and patents,
as well as significant environmental
improvements.
Outlook
European requirements have altered
and will continue to alter significantly
how waste is managed in Ireland
– leading to a greater diversion of
resources to beneficial use, including
energy recovery. The Economic
and Social Research Institute
(ESRI) has developed a Sustainable
Development Model for Ireland (ISus)
to forecast national environmental
emissions and resource use up to
2025. This estimates that the total
volume of municipal waste is likely to
increase quite substantially within the
coming decade, necessitating future
investment in waste management
infrastructure (Figure 5.8). The
estimates are tied to the level of
economic growth and the impact
of proposed new waste policy
measures.
It is anticipated that Local Authorities
will continue to exit waste collection,
and that most of the significant
national waste infrastructure for
waste recovery and disposal will
be delivered and operated by the
private sector. Waste planning
regions will be reconfigured to a
maximum of three regions, with
better coordination between regions
in relation to waste movement and
strategic infrastructure.
Figure 5.8
Predicted Growth in Municipal Waste up to 2025 (Source: EPA, ESRI)
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
3,500,000
4,000,000
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
MSW Generated (t)
Measured
Predicted
Current Position