Ireland needs to raise its game on recycling plastic

We are meeting our recycling targets for glass, paper, cardboard, and metals, but not for plastic — and that’s a concern

If the current practices continue, Ireland won’t meet plastic recycling targets and the climate emissions associated from managing plastic waste will continue to spiral.

For the fourth year in a row, Ireland generated one million tonnes of packaging waste in 2020. New figures from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reveal that while we’re meeting our recycling targets for glass, paper, cardboard, and metals, plastic recycling rates are low.

First, the good news. We recycled 84% of our glass, 78% of our paper and cardboard, and 71% of our metal packaging in 2020. Plastics, however, present a serious challenge.