EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 The actual number of facilities that report hazardous waste transfers (e.g. conveyance off-site for treatment elsewhere) of greater than 2 tonnes is outlined in Figure 10.12. It is noteworthy that one-quarter of the facilities reporting hazardous waste transfers are from the energy and food and drink sectors whereas, in tonnage terms, transfers from these sectors combined are less than 1 per cent of Ireland’s total hazardous waste. 5 There was an overall increase in hazardous waste transferred from EPA-licensed facilities in the period 2007-2017. There were significant increases in hazardous waste recovered in Ireland and abroad, and decreases in hazardous wastes disposed of in Ireland and abroad in this period (Figure 10.12). The figure illustrates the large quantities of hazardous waste transferred in 2008 from the remediation of contaminated soil from a closed industrial facility that had been involved in the production of glass. The data on hazardous waste transfers indicate that the positive trend to send hazardous waste for recovery treatment, rather than disposal, continued in 2017. However, they also highlight that Ireland has not moved significantly towards self-sufficiency. A lack of domestic infrastructure, due in part to economies of scale, and potential for public opposition, combined with the often more favourable cost option of treatment and disposal abroad, have meant that export continues to be a significant treatment route for Ireland’s hazardous waste. Further details relating to industrial waste management nationally are presented in Chapter 9. Figure 10.12  Total national industrial hazardous waste transfers in the period 2007-2017 (Source: EPA http://www.epa.ie/enforcement/prtr/) 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Recovered Ireland Disposed Ireland Recovered abroad Disposed abroad 0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 Waste Transfers (tonnes) 5 http://www.epa.ie/enforcement/prtr/ 5. Circular Economy for Resource Use and Waste Policy measures in the circular economy, waste and resource efficiency areas, including possible BAT conclusions, could help to reduce industrial waste generation and improve recovery in the coming years. There are generally no site-specific targets set against which waste minimisation or waste recovery rates can be benchmarked. The implementation of BAT conclusions (Topic Box 10.2) is likely to have some positive influence in terms of energy efficiency, minimising resource use and waste generation, and promoting the efficient management of materials and residue recovery. BAT conclusions typically have several specific waste and resource efficiency-related conclusions, which are implemented by IED installations. However, in general these waste-related BAT conclusions tend to be qualitative rather than setting specific quantitative targets. It thus remains to be seen exactly how effective the BAT process will be in influencing waste generation and recovery levels. A recent report by Ricardo Energy & Environment and VITO (2019) highlighted greater opportunities for IED to contribute to the circular economy through the publication of the final number of sectoral BAT conclusions. 270