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Sustainable Resource Use, Consumption and Waste
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so important for jobs in our tourism
and agri-foods sectors.
Efficient resource use and
management is a core goal of
economic policy and jobs creation
(OECD, 2011; DJEI, 2012). In order
for Ireland to be sustainable, remain
competitive and attract inward
investment, it is necessary to ensure
that resource efficiency techniques
(including waste prevention)
are embedded across the policy
measures and production practices
for all sectors of the economy.
Resource efficiency allows the
economy to create more with less,
delivering greater value with less
input, thereby using resources in
a sustainable way and minimising
impact on the environment. There
is a need to develop a national
Resource Efficiency Strategy
that integrates all the existing
programmes and maps future
direction. Such a strategy would also
be essential as a support tool for the
EU’s ambitions in relation to setting
out a Critical Raw Materials Plan.
Industry will need to work towards
ensuring that products are
designed and marketed to minimise
environmental impacts in their
manufacture, use, and end of life –
with producers taking responsibility
for the end-of-life fate of products.
Such life-cycle thinking is likely to
become the industrial norm. Prices
of goods must reflect all these costs,
based on full global environmental
impact. Research funding (e.g. EPA’s
STRIVE, IDA’s CleanTech) for new
technologies should continue, with
additional opportunities identified
and exploited to ensure cleaner,
more efficient methods of production
and service provision.
Development of essential waste
infrastructure continues to be a
challenge for the State. Facilities for
the separate collection of waste,
for materials recovery/recycling, for
treatment of the biodegradable
proportion of municipal waste, etc.
are underdeveloped or absent in
some regions. To tackle the high
proportion of uncollected household
waste, as well as reducing the
substantial biodegradable municipal
waste content of residual waste
sent to landfill, further policy
development (e.g. obligation to
participate in a collection service,
mandatory organics/brown bin for
all urban area households, statutory
defined BMW limits on landfill
intake) is required to ensure higher
recovery targets as well as to ensure
compliance with EU obligations. Such
initiatives will also reduce Ireland’s
climate burden and potential odour
nuisance associated with landfills.
Table 5.3
Progress towards EU Recovery & Recycling Targets
Directive
Progress to Targets
1994/62/EC
Packaging Directive
•
2002/96/EC
WEEE Directive
•
2000/53/EC
End of Life Vehicles Directive
•
1999/31/EC
Landfill Directive
•
2006/66/EC
Batteries Directive
•
2008/98/EC
New Waste Framework Directive
•
•
Achieved
•
Not Achieved