Environmental Indicators Ireland 2016

• Municipal waste generated in Ireland peaked in 2007, when there were 3.4 million tonnes, compared with 2.7 million tonnes in 2001. It has fallen each year since 2007 and there were just under 2.7 million tonnes generated in 2012. Waste generated per capita fell from 800 kgs per person in 2006 to 587 in 2012.

• Ireland had the sixth highest level of municipal waste per capita in the EU in 2014.The lowest level of waste generated per capita was in Romania with 254 kgs per capita, while Denmark had the highest level at 758 kgs per capita. The EU average for municipal waste generated in 2014 was 475 kgs per capita.

• The amount of municipal waste sent to landfill varied between 1.8 and 2 million tonnes during the 2001 and 2008 period, but it fell continuously since then to 1 million tonnes in 2012.
• The percentage of municipal waste managed that was sent to landfill fell continuously over the 2001-2012 period from 83% to 41%.

• EU Member States such as Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark send small amounts of waste to landfill, as waste disposal in these countries is based almost entirely on incineration. Ireland had the ninth highest rate of municipal waste sent to landfill in 2014 at 223 kilograms per capita.

• Since 2001 Ireland has increased its rate of recovery of packaging waste such as cardboard, paper, glass, plastic, steel, aluminium and wood. The Packaging Directive 94/62/EC target of 50% set for 2005 was reached in 2004 and the 2011 target of 60% has been exceeded since 2007.

• In 2013, the recovery rate for packaging waste reached 88%.

• In 2013, Ireland recovered 189 kgs of packaging waste per capita, which was the fourth highest rate in the EU after Germany, Luxembourg and Italy.

• The total weight of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) collected in Ireland increased from 40,800  tonnes in 2012 to 42,600 tonnes in 2013.

• Large household appliances accounted for 46% of total WEEE collected in 2013, while consumer equipment accounted for 21% of the total.

• Expressed in kgs per capita, Ireland had the sixth highest level of WEEE collected in 2013. At 9.3 kgs per capita, this is more than double the 4 kgs per capita specified by the WEEE Directive. Sweden was the EU member state with the highest amount of WEEE collected  at 18.4 kgs per capita

• The collection of construction and demolition waste in Ireland increased from 11.2 million tonnes in 2004 to 17.8 million tonnes in 2007. The amount collected fell substantially between 2007 and 2013, when only 2.9 million tonnes were collected, reflecting the decline in the building industry over this period. The amount of construction and demolition waste then increased in 2014 to 3.8 million tonnes.

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