One million tonnes of waste packaging per year presents a serious recycling challenge - EPA

Ireland generated over one million tonnes of packaging waste in 2020, for the fourth year in a row, figures on packaging waste in Ireland published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reveal.

However, Ireland is continuing to achieve high levels of recycling for glass (84%), paper/cardboard (78%) and metal packaging (71%).

Plastics continue to present a serious waste challenge.  Only 29% of plastic packaging waste was recycled in 2020, a long way off the 2025 EU target of 50%. The majority of Ireland’s plastic packaging waste is being incinerated.

Targeted financial and regulatory measures are urgently needed, according to the EPA, to drive a step change improvement in plastic recycling. 

The EPA data shows that Ireland will face significant challenges in meeting the 2025 and 2030 recycling targets for plastic of 50 per cent and 55 per cent.  

The majority of Ireland’s recycling is done abroad, with just 18 per cent of packaging waste (204,000 tonnes) recycled in Ireland in 2020, mainly glass and wood. 

Most plastic packaging waste was sent for incineration, with less than one third recycled. Diversion to energy recovery is happening due to poor segregation at businesses and homes and challenges finding financially viable markets for lightweight and low-quality plastics. If the current practices continue, Ireland will struggle to meet plastic recycling targets and the climate emissions associated from managing plastic waste will continue to grow. 

Commenting on the figures, Sharon Finegan, Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Sustainability said: “While Ireland is meeting current recycling targets, future targets will be more challenging, especially for plastic. Achieving the step change improvement needed in plastic recycling requires fiscal and regulatory measures to be introduced without delay. This could include enhanced recycling subsidies, a levy on incineration, introducing performance targets on waste operators, and the implementation of incentivised pricing to encourage Irish businesses and households to properly segregate their waste for recycling”.

Along with improving recycling rates, the EPA says measures are needed to prevent packaging waste. Ireland’s generation of 1.1 million tonnes of packaging waste per year represents a poor use of materials and energy and is a growing source of emissions, the EPA said.

It says packaging waste can be avoided and reduced through better product design and by substituting single use for reusable packaging.  

Warren Phelan, Programme Manager of the EPA’s Circular Economy Programme said: “With Ireland’s packaging waste exceeding 1.1 million tonnes per year, we need to intensify efforts to reduce packaging waste. Examples of reusable packaging already in use in Ireland include wooden pallets, kegs, and various plastic bulk containers, trays, boxes and buckets. While just 1 per cent of the packaging placed on the Irish market in 2020 was reusable (approximately 8,000 tonnes), this avoided about 72,000 tonnes of single use packaging.”