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Project title

A critical analysis of Ireland's Circular Material Use Rate

Primary Funding Agency

Environmental Protection Agency

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM)

Lead Organisation

The Rediscovery Centre

Lead Applicant

Jack McCarthy

Project Abstract

The recovery and reuse of secondary materials is an important part of the European Union’s (EU) aim of transitioning from a linear to a circular economy. Circular Material Use Rate (CMUR) aims to measure the contribution of recycled materials to overall material use and currently acts as a key comparative indicator for the circularity of domestic EU Member State economies. CMUR scores are essentially a ratio between the recovery of secondary materials (U) and the total materials consumed (M) at a national scale. i.e. CMUR=U/M The overriding logic is that a greater use of recovered materials, or a higher CMUR score, reduces the need to extract new raw materials at a global scale. Between 2010 and 2022 EU Member States have recorded large discrepancies in their CMUR scores. For instance, while Ireland’s CMUR score has remained at between 1.6-2.1 per cent, the EU average has hovered at around 12 per cent, while the Netherlands, which consistently leads the EU in this metric, recorded a CMUR score of 30.9 per cent in 2020. Ireland’s consistently low CMUR score is concerning in terms of achieving national and EU policy objectives, as well as in terms of the potential to exploit new economic opportunities in the emerging circular economy. However, the data and data collection practices underpinning CMUR scores have received little scrutiny to date. This research seeks to address this knowledge gap by carrying out a critical analysis of Ireland’s CMUR score through the following steps, - Reviewing data and data collection practices from three EU Member States with varying CMUR scores based on the development of selection criteria; - Conducting a critical comparative evaluation of data and data collection practices underpinning Ireland’s CMUR; - Identifying pathways for action through which Ireland can improve its current CMUR, including through the cascading use of biological/ biomass resources. In undertaking this analysis, the project team will develop descriptive statistics pertaining to the scope, source and completeness of data underpinning the CMUR of each selected EU Member State. Through this approach, the project will identify areas in which Ireland is underperforming in the recovery and reuse of secondary materials and in the consumption of primary materials, and thus identify pathways for improving circular material use. Particular attention will be given to the circular bio-economy in terms of developing replacements for fossil-based materials and fuels, as aspired to in the European Commission’s 2021 communication on Sustainable Carbon Cycles. In addition, the analysis may identify discrepancies in categories and methods of data reporting in different Member States and thus support the improvement of data reporting methods. The key outputs of the project will include a technical project report and, in the process, produce a tool for calculating and exploring data underpinning CMUR scores. Through these steps the project will contribute to the goal identified in the Whole of Government Circular Economy Strategy 2022-23 of significantly improving Ireland’s CMUR in absolute terms and in comparison with other EU Member States.

Grant Approved

�96,479.70

Research Hub

Green and Circular Economy

Research Theme

n/a

Start Date

01/02/2023

Initial Projected Completion Date

31/01/2024