More Methods

Recycling poster
Copyright Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government

Recycling

The message is clear; recycling is good for the environment. It saves energy, reduces raw material use and combats climate change - which is dealt with in another section of this website. In 1998 the problem in Ireland was our lack of recycling facilities. Since then, however, significant resources from the 2002 Environment Fund have been focused towards improved recycling infrastructure. €22 million was set aside for seventy-one local authority recycling projects. The majority of households now have separate recycling and waste bins, with monetary incentives to recycle provided by some companies. Find your nearest recycling plant on the Repak website here. 

Some 1.1 million tonnes of Ireland’s municipal waste was recycled in 2018, resulting in a recycling rate of 38% in 2018, down from 40% in 2017 and 41% in 2016 (EPA, 2020). These trends indicate that Ireland faces significant challenges to meet the upcoming EU recycling targest for 2020 to 2035 (see below). 

A full list of items that can be recycled is shown in this video and on the recyclinglistireland.ie website. 

Municipal waste recycled, used as fuel and disposed to landfill (tonnes), 2001 - 2018
Environmental Protection Agency (2020)

Energy recovery is another important part of recycling as waste can be incinerated and the energy can be recovered in a purpose built factory.

Biological reprocessing is when organic waste materials can be recycled using biological composting or anaerobic digestion. The resulting  product can be used as mulch or compost for agricultural and landscaping purposes. In addition, gas from the process (methane) can be captured and used for generating electricity. Dealing with waste in this controlled fashion speeds up the natural process of biodegradation. In Ireland the hope would be that recovering biodegradable waste would divert it from landfills. The EU Landfill Directive requires that by 2020 only 35% of biodegradable municipal waste generated will still be going to dumps.

Composting has becoming a welcome feature of Irish gardens. 

Avoidance and reduction methods

An important method of waste control is the prevention of rubbish being created, also known as waste reduction. Means of avoidance include the reuse of second-hand products, repairing broken items instead of buying new ones and designing products to be refillable or reusable.

In April 2004 the EPA launched the National Waste Prevention Programme. It drove reduction policy like the Green Home program (more information on (www.greenhome.ie), Packaging Waste Prevention Programme and The Green Business Initiative.