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Project title

Barriers and enablers to transition to Ireland�s transition to the circular economy

Primary Funding Agency

Environmental Protection Agency

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

n/a

Lead Organisation

The Rediscovery Centre

Lead Applicant

Jack McCarthy

Project Abstract

Globally, the extraction, processing, consumption, and waste of raw materials is having a detrimental impact on environmental, climatic, and human health. A central tenet of the European Union�s Green Deal is to transition from a linear economy of �take-make-waste�, to a circular economy, where the value of products and materials is maintained for as long as possible and the generation of waste is minimised. The EU Green Deal also sets a target of achieving net-zero C02 equivalent emissions by 2050. Substituting waste and/or by-product materials for carbon-intensive virgin raw materials can contribute to achieving these targets. Ireland�s national policies, such as the Circular Economy Act, the National Waste Management Plan for the Circular Economy (draft), and the Climate Action Plan, recognise and reflect these imperatives. However, Ireland�s progress from a materials perspective is poor. For instance, in 2020 Ireland�s Circular Material Use Rate � a key metric for national circularity � was 1.7%, or second lowest in the EU. As of 2021 Ireland had the second highest greenhouse gas emissions per capita in the EU at 14.1 tonnes of CO2 eq. Research by the OECD has highlighted material reuse challenges in relation to construction and demolition waste, the lack of interaction between sectors, and the lack of a place-based approach to circularity. Yet, the details of these challenges are not fully understood. There is, for instance, no inventory of waste/by-product materials with potential to improve Ireland�s circularity and carbon emissions profile, little understanding of embedded industrial relations that may inhibit change, nor a holistic plan for overcoming such barriers in a context appropriate way. This project will help to ameliorate the situation through the following key objectives. 1. Identify high volume waste / by-product material categories that may act as substitutes for carbon-intensive virgin raw materials in priority product areas. 2. Model the carbon and circularity impacts of increasing reuse and remanufacture of the selected materials across three different scenarios (conservative, moderate, and ambitious). 3. Develop case-studies of the regulatory, economic, and societal barriers to maintaining use and increasing reuse and remanufacture with selected materials. 4. Develop actionable roadmaps for increasing use and reuse of selected materials through exploration of successful examples across Europe. By achieving these objectives, this project will develop new knowledge and usable roadmaps through which Ireland can improve its carbon footprint and circularity. The final report will also detail the methodology employed, which means it can be used for additional materials that may not be considered by this project. Finally, by engaging with stakeholder groups throughout the project, the project team will ensure that the research outputs account for the existing material-use and waste management landscape in Ireland. In conjunction with a quantitative understanding of the barriers and potential benefits of increasing the use of selected waste/by-product materials, a qualitative understanding of relevant parts of Irelands economy will be reflected in the research outputs and make the roadmaps developed workable.

Grant Approved

�435,764.46

Research Hub

Green and Circular Economy

Research Theme

n/a

Start Date

20/03/2024

Initial Projected Completion Date

19/03/2027