Watchdog urges more reuse and recycling as Ireland's waste grows by a fifth in 10 years

'Methane emissions from landfill are the main contributor to emissions from the waste sector,' the Climate Change Advisory Council report said. File photo: Owen Humphreys/PA

Ireland generated an average of 8.5kg of waste per person per day in 2024, resulting in a total of 16.7 million tonnes over the year, according to a new report.

The Climate Change Advisory Council said annual waste generation has increased by more than 20% over the past decade.

The watchdog said due to rising levels of consumption, Ireland was "certain to miss many mandatory recycling targets", including the EU target of recycling 55% of municipal waste by 2025.

It noted that Ireland continues to rely on waste exports, with 37% of waste sent abroad for final treatment and 351,000 tonnes of residual waste exported for energy recovery through incineration. The council said this underlined a "significant waste infrastructure gap" in the state.

“It is extremely clear that Ireland’s progress towards a circular economy is stalling and that a significant reduction in waste generation is required, supported in tandem by increased reuse and recycling,” the watchdog said.

Ireland’s circularity rate continues to underperform against the EU average of 12.2%, the report said. Ireland has the second-lowest rate in the EU. Its rate fell from 2.1% in 2023 to 2% in 2024, highlighting “the need for a significantly enhanced focus on impactful actions in the circular economy”.

Across the sector as a whole, emissions fell by 0.4% in 2025 and accounted for 1.6% of total national emissions.

The council said the sector’s emissions are projected to fall by 23.9% by 2030 compared with 2018 levels. This is driven mainly by a 34.5% reduction in landfill emissions.

“Methane emissions from landfill are the main contributor to emissions from the waste sector,” the report said.

Separately, emissions from the industry sector have fallen for four consecutive years and are now 15.9% below 2018 levels. However, they are “expected to stagnate until 2030”.

Industry is projected to be the second-worst-performing sector, behind transport, in terms of compliance with its next emissions ceiling. The sector exceeded its 2021-2025 emissions limit by 9.1%.

“By 2030, emissions are projected to be just 11.6% below 2018 levels, well short of the Government’s 35% reduction target,” the council said.

It expressed concern that EPA projections show “almost no difference between projected industrial emissions under existing Government measures and those including additional planned measures, demonstrating that there is an absence of clear additional Government measures to meet 2030 decarbonisation targets”.

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Emissions from dairy processing plants increased by 3.6% in 2025, following a 4.8% rise in milk production.

However, emissions from the food and drink sector decreased by 2.1% overall. Emissions from bulk pharmaceutical manufacturing fell by more than 4%, following a 5% rise in 2024.

Council member Jillian Mahon said that while industry had made real progress, “we cannot assume that progress will continue”.

“The projections are a clear warning that the measures currently planned are not enough to deliver the change needed by the end of this decade,” she said.

“We need to remove the barriers that are slowing the transition. That means making it easier to electrify industry, developing a viable indigenous biomethane sector and ensuring that lower-carbon technologies are not left waiting years for approval,” Ms Mahon added.