Search for a licence or permit

Household Waste Statistics for Ireland

EPA waste data release, 12th September 2024.  Reference year, 2022. All data are subject to Eurostat validation.

Household waste includes general waste, recyclable waste and organic waste collected directly from households and waste brought by householders to waste collection centres such as bring banks, civic amenity sites, and pay-to-use compactors. 

Ireland generated approximately 1.8 million tonnes (t) of household waste in 2022; 1.76 million tonnes of household waste was managed and an estimated 36,970 t was unmanaged.

This data release presents key statistics on the generation and management of Irish household waste in 2022.

Key trends

  • 1.76 million tonnes of household waste was managed in Ireland in 2022. This is a 3% decrease since 2021 and a 5% decrease from a peak of 1.85 million tonnes in 2020 (see Figure 1 above). Managed waste is waste that is collected at kerbside from households or brought to waste 'bring centres' such as Civic Amenity Sites (CAS), recycling centres, bring banks and WEEE collection centres.   
  • Most of the household waste managed in Ireland in 2022 was collected at kerbside (66%), with smaller quantities collected via CAS, skips, bring banks and pay to use facilities.
  • The quantity of household waste managed in Ireland in 2022 equates to 342kg per person, down from 361kg per person in 2021 and 372 kg/person in 2020.  However, this is up considerably from 314 kg per person in 2018.
    • There was a large increase in household waste generated in 2020, linked to a change in householders’ behaviour caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.  Public health guidelines requiring most of the population to remain at home for several months in 2020 is likely to have caused the increase in household waste generation in that year. During this period many offices and businesses were closed so commercial waste quantities decreased as a result.
    • Household waste level dropped back slightly in 2021 and again in 2022 following lifting of COVID -19 restrictions. However, the continuation of remote working and blended working patterns means that people are spending more time in their household than they were pre-COVID and as a result are generating more waste there.
  • Just over 40 % of all managed household waste was collected in the general waste (black) bin in 2022 (711,463 t).  General waste accounted for 61% of all household waste collected at kerbside. General waste in Ireland is generally incinerated for energy recovery or landfilled. 
    • The latest EPA municipal waste characterisation study found that almost two thirds of waste placed in household general waste bins should be put in household recycling or organic waste bins or brought to bring centres. 
  • 14.5% of household waste was collected in the recycling bin in 2022 (256,517t). 
    • The latest EPA municipal waste characterisation study found that over a third of waste placed in household recycling bins was not recyclable and should be put in household recycling or organic waste bins or brought to bring centres.  
  • Organic waste collected in the organic waste (brown) bin accounted for 11% of all household waste managed in 2022 (197,518 t). The tonnage of organic waste decreased by 5% compared to the 2021 tonnage (208,719t) but increased by 23% when compared to the 2019 tonnage (159,385t). When properly segregated, this organic waste can be composted or anaerobically digested to make biogas.
    • However, the latest municipal waste characterisation study found that most household organic waste (about two thirds) continues to be placed in the general waste bin and is therefore not composted or anaerobically digested.
  • An estimated further 36,970 t of household waste was unmanaged in 2022, representing just over 2% of all household waste. Unmanaged waste is waste that is not collected or brought to waste bring centres and is therefore likely to cause pollution in the environment because it is fly tipped or disposed of through backyard burning. 
    • The EPA bases its estimate of unmanaged household waste on the CSO Household Environmental Behaviours Survey1(2021), which estimated that 2% of households do not dispose of their residual waste by any of the generally acceptable methods.  This is less than the 3% percent of households estimated in the 2016 CSO Household Environmental Behaviours Survey, indicating that more householders disposed of their waste by acceptable methods in Ireland in 2021 than in 2016.
  • Timeseries analysis (see Figure 2 below) of the amount of waste collected at kerbside by household bin type between 2015 and 2022 indicates that:  
    • The total amount of household general (residual) waste collected decreased by 9% between 2015 and 2019. However, 2020, saw a 12% increase in general waste collected to 722,911 t. This decreased by 3% in 2021 but rose again in 2022 by 1.6% to 711,462t.
    • Overall, the proportion of kerbside waste collected in the general waste bin has decreased from 66% in 2015 to 61% in 2022. 
    • The amount of household waste collected in the recycling bin increased by 5% between 2015 and 2020.  Since then, it has decreased by 1.4% in 2021 and a further 3% in 2022 (256,517 t). The share of collected waste which was collected in the recycling bin has decreased from 24% in 2015 to 22% in 2022.
    • The most significant change has occurred in the tonnage of household organic waste collected at kerbside which has nearly doubled from 102,003 t in 2015 to 197,518 t in 2022.
    • Organic waste represented 17% of all household waste collected at kerbside in 2022, up from 10% in 2015. However, the total quantity of organic waste collected at kerbside fell by 11,200 tonnes or 5% in 2022 compared to 2021.

  • Table 2. Household Bins 2015 to 2022

    Open in Excel: Household_2024_Ref2022_Table 2 hh bin collection trends 2015 to 2022 Excel (XLS 11KB)

    Open in CSV : Household_2024_Ref2022_Table 2 hh bin collection trends 2015 to 2022 CSV (CSV 1KB)

Future focus

Our focus for the future needs to be on reducing waste generation in Households and achieving a circular economy. The waste hierarchy tells us that the most effective way to do this is through prevention of waste generation. This can be achieved in the first instance through reduced consumption of new materials and products. Reuse and repair of existing products and items, extending their use and circulation for longer, is sustainable and cost-effective way for households to reduce both their consumption and waste generation. 

For waste generated, urgent action is needed to improve household waste segregation and divert more waste back into the circular economy reducing raw material and resource use.  Currently the majority of household waste is disposed in our general waste bins and is mostly incinerated for energy or landfilled.  The latest national municipal waste characterisation project found over two thirds of waste in household general waste bins could have been placed in the recycling and organic waste bins.    

Reversing the upward trend in household waste generation will require the implementation of Ireland's Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy designed to significantly cut down on packaging waste and food waste in particular.  

Food waste accounts for 16% of all household waste so more needs to be done to prevent food waste through initiatives such as Stop Food Waste.  Two thirds of household food waste is still placed in the general waste bin rather than correctly segregated into the organic waste bin.  The brown bin roll out to households has increased the collection and composting rate of organic waste. New EU waste legislation means that the separate collection of biowaste must be offered to all customers from January 2024.

Packaging waste makes up about 27% of the waste in household bins and Ireland’s generation of packaging waste continues to rise. To tackle household waste generation, we need cut down on the amount of packaging placed on the market in the first place by innovating and moving to circular business models and ensure that any remaining packaging is designed either for reuse or is readily recyclable.  Recycling is also part of the solution to packaging waste. Two thirds of plastic waste is placed in the general waste bin rather than segregated into the recycling waste bin. 

More needs to be done to support and motivate Irish householders to segregate their waste, particularly food and plastic waste and use household bins and waste collection centres correctly through:

  • providing organic waste bins to all households
  • targeted awareness campaigns
  • improved incentivised waste collection charging
  • improved recycling infrastructure

To see data from previous years see: Household Waste Data Archive | Environmental Protection Agency (epa.ie)