Ireland set to miss 2025 recycling targets

Ireland is on course to miss mandatory EU recycling targets due to rising waste generation and stalled progress on recycling rates.

The warning comes from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its latest annual report on municipal, packaging and construction waste. The agency has stressed that, without urgent action to expand recycling capacity, curb packaging waste and reduce overall consumption, Ireland will fall short of the EU recycling targets that become mandatory from 2025.

Waste growth

Data for 2023, the latest year available, shows that Ireland’s municipal recycling rate remains at 42%, well below the 2025 target of 55%. Recycling of packaging reached 59% against a 65% benchmark. The rate for plastic packaging was just 30%, far from the required 50%.
The total of municipal waste being recycled was 1.3 million tonnes, showing no improvement over the past decade. At the same time, 1.2 million tonnes of municipal waste were exported, highlighting the country’s reliance on overseas facilities.

Investment call

‘Ireland’s waste generation is too high,’ says David Flynn, director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Sustainability. ‘Our report highlights that Ireland needs to make measurable progress on stalled recycling rates and reduce overall consumption. Ireland needs to recycle 400 000 more tonnes of waste each year than we currently do.’

Flynn adds that addressing the challenge will need further investment in recycling infrastructure and no longer exporting a significant amount of Ireland’s municipal waste.
The EPA also warned of growing challenges in the construction sector, which generated nine million tonnes of waste in 2023, making it the most waste-intensive industry. The agency urged companies to prioritise waste prevention and maximise the use of recyclable and recycled materials.

Incentivise

Commenting on the broader issues, Warren Phelan, programme manager of the EPA’s Circular Economy Programme, says: ‘If we are serious about moving to an economy which values resources and materials, we need to support innovation for low-waste businesses as well as lean production, remanufacturing and circular supply chains.
‘Materials and wastes are a cost to businesses, we need to value and retain materials, and our policies must incentivise circular businesses.’