New figures released by Ireland’s Environment Protection Agency (EPA) have shown that in 2012, Ireland recovered more municipal waste than it disposed of for the first time.

The ‘2012 National Waste Report’, released on Wednesday (6 August), shows that of the 2,478,337 tonnes of municipal waste (a combination of household waste, commercial waste and other waste that, because of its nature or composition, is similar to household waste) managed by local authorities in 2012, 59 per cent was recovered and 41 per cent was disposed of. (According to the EPA, recovery relates to ‘recycling, energy recovery, composting & digestion and other recovery’, whereas disposal relates to methods such as landfilling (without energy recovery) or incineration without heat or electricity recuperation.)

The average household waste generation per capita in Ireland was 344 kilogrammes (kg) in 2012, down from 367 kg in 2011.

Report details

The rise in waste recovery has been attributed to a combination of measures, including increases in the landfill levy for disposal of waste to landfill, and an increase in the use of municipal waste as a fuel.

Indeed, the report shows that in 2012, 427,093 tonnes of municipal waste was used as a fuel for energy recovery – an 118 per cent increase on 2011 – with 34 per cent exported for energy recovery (a 36 per cent increase on 2011).

However, landfilling is still markedly more popular than recycling, with 41 per cent of municipal waste landfilled and just 31 per cent recycled (a further six per cent was composted or digested).

The municipal waste recycling rate has held steady at just under 40 per cent for the last two years.

First time ELV targets met

Another milestone recognised in the annual waste report was that Ireland achieved the 2006 End of Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive targets (of 80 per cent reuse and recycling and 85 per cent reuse and recovery) for the first time.

Indeed, the figures show that operators reused or recycled 81.8 per cent and reused or recovered 87.8 per cent of the 102,073 ELVs arising in Ireland in 2012.

This is partly due changes in legislation, after the 2012 Landfill Levy Amendment Regulations removed the exemption from the levy for non-metallic residues arising from the shredding of end-of-life vehicles, white goods and other metal waste.

Higher targets (85 and 95 per cent) will be coming into effect from January 2015. The EPA has outlined that to meet these, operators will need to achieve a combination of actions, including dismantling non-metallic ELV components prior to shredding, extracting recyclable materials (such as metals and plastics) from shredder residue, and combining the energy recovery of shredder residue with metal recovery from combustion residues.

Household waste

Image taken from the EPA's 2012 National Waste Report

Looking to household waste collections, of the 1,069,920 tonnes of household waste collected at the kerbside in 2012, the vast majority (68 per cent) was placed in residual waste bins, with 24 per cent in recycling containers, 7.5 per cent in organic waste receptacles, and 0.5 per cent as segregated glass.

Ireland has no glass manufacturing facility, paper mill or metal smelter, so these waste streams are mainly exported for recycling.

Of the residual waste, 48 per cent was sent directly to landfill (or to landfill via a bulking station for disposal), while 47 per cent was sent for recovery (16 per cent for incineration with energy recovery, and 31 per cent sent for mechanical treatment destined for recovery).

The remaining five per cent was sent to ‘other’ facilities, where its final treatment not analysed.

‘Ireland is now one of the top EU performers’

Speaking of the figures, Dr Jonathan Derham, EPA Programme Manager, said: “The data shows that Irish society is producing less waste per capita and is deriving more value from the waste it does generate through recycling and use as a fuel. Maximising the resource efficiency of all materials consumed is an essential aim of our transition to a sustainable economy.

“There have been significant developments in waste management in recent years as evidenced through the landfill levy, producer responsibility initiatives, the National Waste Prevention Programme, and new waste collection obligations which have been very successful in addressing our historically poor record on waste management.

“Ireland is now one of the top EU performers in relation to waste generation per capita and in achievement of our EU waste management obligations.”

Read the full ‘2012 National Waste Report’.