EPA - Ireland's Environment 2016 - An Assessment

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97 Chapter 6: Waste
Municipal Waste Management
Municipal waste generation is increasing.
Municipal waste in Ireland is made up of household waste
as well as commercial and other waste that, because of
its nature or composition, is similar to household waste.
Municipal waste generation is a good indicator of the
consumption behaviours within society. The amount of
municipal waste generated in Ireland in 2014 is estimated
at 2.73 Mt (EPA, unpublished preliminary data), an increase
of 6% since 2012.
Household waste is a core component of municipal waste.
Preliminary data indicate that 1.52 Mt of household
waste was generated in 2014 (331kg per person), which
is similar compared to the EU-28 average (Figure 6.7).
Most household waste is collected at the kerbside. Of
households on a kerbside service in 2014, 97% received
a two-bin service (residual and dry recyclables bin) and
43% were on a three-bin service (residual, dry recyclables
and organics).
Food Waste
One of the UN Sustainable Development Goals
(Target 12.3) is to “halve per capita global food waste
at the retail and consumer level, and reduce food
losses along production and supply chains by 2030”.
EU-funded research estimated that 87.6 Mt of food
waste was generated across the EU in 2012 (FUSIONS,
2016). In Ireland, it is estimated that 509,900
tonnes of food waste (251,000 tonnes household
plus 258,900 tonnes food services) is generated per
annum in Ireland, and that food waste costs each
Irish household €700 per year. Ireland’s Stop Food
Waste campaign has been to the forefront of food
waste prevention since 2009 and has been promoting
behavioural changes through provision of information,
training, local champions and peer example. National
food reuse schemes operated by social enterprises
such as Bia Food Initiative11 and by Foodcloud,12 and
supported by food retailers and the catering industry,
are EU exemplars.
By July 2016, waste collectors are obliged to offer all
households situated in population agglomerations
of more than 500 persons a separate food waste
collection service. Although the number of households
with a separate organic bin service has been
increasing (43% of those on a collection service in
2014), householders are still placing food waste into
the residual bin, which is a missed opportunity for
recycling of food waste (CSO, 2016).
11
12
Figure 6.7 Household Waste Generated Per Capita
in Ireland Compared with the EU Average
(Source: Eurostat, EPA)
331kg
per person
in 2014
Ireland
336kg
per person
in 2012
EU 28