Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Shutterstock/Lenscap Photography

More than one million tonnes of packaging waste created in Ireland for third year in a row

Our recycling rate has continued to decline.

IRELAND HAS GENERATED more than one million tonnes of packaging waste for at least three years in a row, with 1.1 million tonnes of waste in 2019, the EPA has found.

New figures from the Environmental Protection Agency show that an 11% increase from 2018 saw 1,124,000 tonnes of packaging waste created in Ireland in 2019 – around 229kg of waste packaging per person.

At the same time, our recycling rate continued to decline.

62% of waste packaging was recycled in 2019, which decreased from 64% in 2018 but still exceeded the current EU target of 55%.

  • Our colleagues at Noteworthy want to find out if Irish recycling waste is ending up in illegal dumps abroad. See how you can support this project here.

However, recycling rates have been on a downwards trend since 2013, and the EPA expects that stricter targets in the near future – 65% from 2025 and 70% from 2030 – will be more challenging for Ireland to reach.

Similarly, specific targets for recycling plastic packaging of 50% from 2025 and 55% from 2030 will be “extremely challenging”.

Paper and cardboard were the most common packaging type recycled in 2019, followed by plastic.

Of the nearly 320,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste generated in Ireland in 2019, only 28% was recycled – though we are on track to reach targets for recycling other types of packaging like glass, wood, and ferrous metal.

Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Sustainability Sharon Finegan said that businesses need to put less packaging on the market. 

She said the findings “highlight the need for Ireland to implement measures at policy, industry and individual level to halt the rise in packaging waste”.

“We need to rethink how we make, transport and use products and move to a system where unnecessary packaging is avoided and any remaining packaging is designed either for re-use or recycling,” Finegan said.

“Policy commitments to support this shift such as those outlined in Ireland’s Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy need to be implemented without delay”.

To reverse the negative trends, the EPA outlines that targeted measures are needed to phase out the use of packaging that is difficult to recycle, like implementing and enforcing bans or restrictions on certain single-use plastics.

Additionally, the government needs to implement policies like the Waste Action Plan and the upcoming Circular Economy Strategy and the list of materials accepted for recycling by waste operators needs to be broadened.

EPA Senior Scientist Dr Tara Higgins said that improving how we separate waste at home, in businesses and in public settings would have a strong impact on Ireland’s recycling rate.  

“In 2019, over 13,000 tonnes of aluminium packaging and nearly 39,000 tonnes of recyclable plastic were sent for incineration,” Dr Higgins said.

“Allowing soft plastics such as films and wraps into our recycling bins and new deposit-return schemes are positive actions that are now being rolled out to support an increase in the capture of high quality material for recycling into new products.”

Of the 1.1 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2019, only 16% was recycled in Ireland, with the rest sent abroad.

Most of the packaging recycled here was glass and wood, while almost all plastic, paper and cardboard and most metal was shipped elsewhere.

As of this week, soft plastics like sweet wrappers, crisp packets or bubble wrap can be placed in household recycling bins as long as they are clean and dry, whereas only hard or rigid plastic could be recycled previously.

However, experts say that while it is a step in the right direction, the primary focus needs to be on reducing the amount of waste we generate in the first place.

Dr David Styles of the University of Limerick told The Journal that we would “be much better off if we massively reduce the plastic we produce and reduce our emissions”.

“The danger is that we get complacent… It feeds into complacency that we can use as much plastic as we want and put in the recycling bin, but we’re using far too much plastic,” he said.

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
23 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute NoPlanetB
    Favourite NoPlanetB
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 7:34 AM

    This is a classic case of an issue that has NOTHING to do with the consumer. At the top level in the EU we need clear and workable limits on packaging that are agreed with business. Businesses that exceed the packaging limits face fines and ultimately lose their product certification.
    Don’t allow the Government and Industry to blame the consumer for poor environmental behaviour. It is not our fault.

    187
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute HectorPickaxe
    Favourite HectorPickaxe
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 8:16 AM

    @NoPlanetB: The worst one that I ever came across was one of the major supermarkets selling a single peeled orange in a clear plastic box. I remember there was a bit of noise about it at the time and they stopped selling them.
    Recently I bought a multipack of 18 biscuit bars. They were individually wrapped, then wrapped in packs of 6, and then wrapped in the 18 pack. So in total for 18 small bars there were 22 wrappers. Obviously consumers can choose not to buy these items, but I agree fully that it must be regulated from.the top to really make an impact.

    85
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Thomas O' Donnell
    Favourite Thomas O' Donnell
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 9:12 AM

    @NoPlanetB: I wouldn’t say it has nothing to do with the consumer. Choosing to shop online usually means extra packaging. I agree with what you said about corporate responsibility and EU rules though

    17
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Cee Dee
    Favourite Cee Dee
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 6:22 AM

    I got a letter from my bin provider saying I was recycling too much and they were going to charge me extra.

    It mentioned the cost of disposing.

    I promptly changed company.

    111
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Cee Dee
    Favourite Cee Dee
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 6:35 AM

    @Cee Dee: sent said letter to author.

    I forgot it mentions about also being ‘ bad for the environment’

    ?

    28
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Coach
    Favourite Coach
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 7:33 AM

    Focus needs to be on reducing materials going to consumers, not having better rates of recycling. Does our fruit need to come wrapped in plastic? (No). The amount of cardboard and packaging on Anything electrical is insane. The enforcement needs to be on the companies putting so much packaging into the system, not in whether consumers can deal with it correctly when they have bought the goods.

    81
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Diarmuid O'Braonáin
    Favourite Diarmuid O'Braonáin
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 8:23 AM

    We are completely useless in this country when it comes to waste management. From govt to companies to people.

    For example how many people put food waste in with general waste. A lot. If you live in the countryside there is very little options for food/organic bins. The rise in online shopping means the cardboard volume is gone through the roof and how much is recycled? How much is burned?
    There is no glass deposit scheme. There is no electricity production from food waste? There is no plan to reduce single use plastics that are destroying our countryside. Politicians don’t care about the environment, the green party are a joke as this is real basic stuff done across Europe. They’d rather give themselves pay rises and create new taxes that solve nothing.

    55
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Gregory Casey
    Favourite Gregory Casey
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 9:32 AM

    @Diarmuid O’Braonáin: Nothing has changed since the days of Gormless and as that joke of a Gov’t collapsed, so too will this one.

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Leitrim303
    Favourite Leitrim303
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 6:55 AM

    Packaging waste is a result of people shopping online more and more. The Amazon fulfillment center will only add to the packing waste problem

    36
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Marie Broomfield
    Favourite Marie Broomfield
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 10:25 AM

    @Leitrim303: i read yesterday that cardboard is the most useful. All those amazon boxes go on to produce cement or something, here in ireland. Everything is packaged anuway, no matter who you buy it from.

    8
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Frankie J
    Favourite Frankie J
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 10:36 AM

    @Leitrim303: they use paper and cardboard to pack their orders which is very recyclable

    11
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Nicole
    Favourite Nicole
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 8:13 AM

    When you leave a cardboard box beside your recycling bin to be taken away, not a huge one I might add. And they email you to tell you they can’t take it and will charge you a special collection fee of €20, of course I’m going to put it in my black bin the following week. Not worth the hassle sometimes.

    34
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Coach
    Favourite Coach
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 8:16 AM

    @Nicole: :-/

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Wolfgang Bonow
    Favourite Wolfgang Bonow
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 11:17 AM

    @Nicole: What about ripping up the box in pieces and put it IN the recycling bin?
    If it’s, as you said, only a “not a huge one”, put in after the bin has been emptied. Can’t be that hard.

    24
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Pseud O'Nym
    Favourite Pseud O'Nym
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 1:29 PM

    @Wolfgang Bonow: ah come on. Can’t someone else do it?

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ian James Burgess
    Favourite Ian James Burgess
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 10:06 AM

    The world’s biggest packaging company started in Dublin, you would think they might set up a cardboard recycling facility instead of it being shipped elsewhere. Step up there Mr Smurfit

    15
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Udaya Khandavilli
    Favourite Udaya Khandavilli
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 8:18 AM

    Simple act is don’t throw the stuff you don’t need, just give it one who wants to utilize the used stuff or to some charity shop(stuff like books, clothes, shoes, etc)

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute To Mt
    Favourite To Mt
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 7:00 AM

    1.75kg for every man, woman and child per day?

    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Darren Byrne
    Favourite Darren Byrne
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 7:23 AM

    @To Mt: it says 229kg per person per year. What maths are you doing to get that figure because I get .62kg approx.

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Marie Broomfield
    Favourite Marie Broomfield
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 10:35 AM

    When they say only 28% of plastic was recycled, they don’t mention whether it was contaminated recyclables, ie people go to all.the bother to put it in the recyclable.bin and then it gets bunched in with hundreds of others and someone somewhere throws in a nappy and the whole lot gets dumped! (Saw it on the telly so it must be true) Waste of my bloody time and effort. I’ll be reducing my recycling if we as a country don’t deal with our own shyte and stop sending it abroad.

    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Stephen Campbell
    Favourite Stephen Campbell
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 9:06 AM

    It all gets incinerated anyways?

    5
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Darren Byrne
    Favourite Darren Byrne
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 2:45 PM

    @Stephen Campbell: so its recycled into fuel?

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Stewart O Neill
    Favourite Stewart O Neill
    Report
    Sep 10th 2021, 2:47 PM

    Whats wrong with irelabd is we cannot learn how to make stuff out of plastuc thats to be recycled or aluminum/ steel there for we export it to countries that do.

    2
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

Leave a commentcancel

 
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds