Ireland's Environment Indicators

WasteStatus / Trend
Biodegradable Waste Diversion from Landfill amber face
Household Waste per Capita green face
Recovery and Disposal of Municipal Waste amber face
Recovery of Packaging Waste green face

Biodegradable Waste Diversion from Landfill

Landfilling of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) results in high emissions of methane which is a greenhouse gas and a potential source of odour nuisance. There are targets under the Landfill Directive to divert BMW from landfill. Ireland has met all targets to date and is on track to meet the final diversion target (due July 2020).

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Household Waste per capita

Household waste generation (per capita) in Ireland decreased in the period 2007 to 2012, which reflects less consumption during a period of economic recession.

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Recovery and Disposal of Municipal Waste

Municipal waste is household as well as commercial and other waste that because of its nature or composition is similar to household waste.  Municipal sludges and effluents are not included in scope.  In 2016, 2.76 Mtonnes of municipal waste was generated.  Municipal waste recovery was at 74 per cent in 2016 (down from 79 per cent in 2014).

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Recovery of Packaging Waste

Ireland has been compliant with all statutory packaging recovery targets set since 2001.  Recycling and recovery percentages of 66 per cent and 87 per cent, respectively, were reported for 2017, exceeding the EU target of 55 and 60 per cent.

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Open in Excel: Waste indicators (XLS 14KB)