Almost 70% of plastic in Ireland is burned instead of recycled
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Ireland’s burgeoning reliance on plastic has been laid bare, with figures showing about 70% of it being burned instead of recycled.
As the country attempts to get to grips with 2030 emissions reductions targets set out in the recently-signed Climate Bill, data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show a mere 28% of plastic generated was recycled, according to the latest available figures.
Plastic formed a major component of the 1.1m tonnes of packaging waste the year before the pandemic struck, an 11% increase on the year previously, and the third year in a row that the amount exceeded the 1m mark.
It puts into perspective the challenge ahead in loosening our reliance as consumers on the environmentally-damaging materials, despite this week’s announcement that so-called ‘soft plastic’ can now be put into recycling bins.
Plastic packaging waste incinerated for energy recovery has grown year on year from 44% in 2017 to 69% in 2019, the EPA said.
Any increase in plastic packaging recycled is offset by an even greater increase in packaging waste being generated and incinerated, the agency added.
Ireland’s recycling rates have shown a generally declining trend since 2013 because of this imbalance, it warned.
About 229kg of waste packaging was generated per person in 2019, including 96kg of paper and cardboard, 65kg of plastic, 33kg of glass, 19kg of wood and 13kg of metal packaging per person, according to the data.
Of overall waste packaging, 62% was recycled.
Director of the EPA’s office of environmental sustainability Sharon Finegan said the onus was on both businesses and individuals to examine their plastic use.
“Policy commitments to support this shift such as those outlined in Ireland’s Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy need to be implemented without delay,” she said.
The Waste Action Plan, announced in September last year and described as a roadmap for waste management and planning, is currently being finalised and will form part of the Government’s forthcoming so-called “circular economy strategy”.
The European Commission’s data analysis arm, Eurostat, has said Ireland has the highest plastic waste generation, far higher than the EU average. However, Ireland is the fourth lowest in the EU when it comes to recycling.
According to the Zero Waste Europe non-governmental-organisation, global production and consumption of plastics have increased more than 20 times over in the past 50 years, going from 15m tonnes in 1964 to 311m tonnes in 2014 – likely doubling again over the next 20 years on the current estimates.
EPA senior scientist Dr Tara Higgins said that in 2019, more than 13,000 tonnes of aluminium packaging and nearly 39,000 tonnes of recyclable plastic were sent for incineration.
The new rules on soft plastic would be a benefit, she added.
"Improving how we separate waste at home, in businesses and on-the-go can have a big impact on Ireland’s recycling rate.
"Allowing soft plastics such as films and wraps into our recycling bins and new deposit-return schemes are positive actions that are now being rolled out to support an increase in the capture of high-quality material for recycling into new products."
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