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Wednesday 29 November 2023 Dublin: 2°C

# recycling

Yesterday
28th November 2023
Just 28% of plastic packaging recycled as country remains off track to meet EU targets
While there was a notable decrease in hazardous waste, the EPA found that Ireland remains behind on targets overall.
This year
2023
Two thirds of general waste could've been recycled or composted, EPA finds
Food waste made up 30% of the content found in commercials waste bins in 2022.
Ireland at risk of missing plastic recycling targets, with most plastic waste incinerated
New figures from the EPA show that just 28% of plastics are recycled in Ireland.
Data concerns are deterring people from recycling tech products, research finds
WEEE Ireland figures for the last three years also reveal that for every 10 new tech products sold in Ireland, only four are eventually coming back for recycling.
Tánaiste pledges review of waste collection as Dáil hears clashes over Panda's brown bin charge
Smith said that waste privatisation was to blame for the fact that some households would be paying close to an additional €100 a year on bin charges.
New waste regulations to include incentivised charging and segregation for commercial waste
This change will bring the commercial sector in line with the residential sector, for whom incentivised pricing has been in place since 2017.
Last year
2022
The Explainer x Noteworthy: What happens to your soft plastic recycling?
Alice Chambers of Noteworthy and Mindy O’Brien of environmental charity VOICE tell Susan Daly about Ireland’s recycling system.
Soft plastic is being collected but almost all burned in Irish kilns or recycled abroad
A report by
Alice Chambers
Guidelines changed in 2021 to allow soft plastic in our recycling bins – Noteworthy investigates what happens to it.
An estimated 9,000 tonnes of additional soft plastic recycled in 2022
Almost all Irish household soft plastic that does get recycled is shipped abroad
EPA: Ireland is ‘in danger’ of missing 2025 plastic packaging recycling targets
Rising levels of waste making it difficult to increase recycling rates, EPA warns
The EPA’s national waste statistics report for 2020 has been published today.
E-waste warning as record number of electrical items recycled
WEEE Ireland’s annual report reveals that it collected 18.7 million waste electrical items last year.
All time
Urgent action needed over 'worryingly low' plastic packaging recycling rates, says EPA
There’s “significant cause for concern” from these figures according to an EPA Senior Scientist.
Regulations have been signed for a Deposit Return Scheme for plastic bottles and aluminium cans
The drinks industry is to fund and operate the scheme.
Opinion: Recycling soft plastics is fine but we must simply stop using them
Mindy O’Brien says the changes to the recycling of plastics should not mean a ‘get out of jail free’ card for plastic manufacturers and businesses.
More than one million tonnes of packaging waste created in Ireland for third year in a row
Our recycling rate has continued to decline.
Soft plastics can now be placed in Irish recycling bins
All plastics can now be placed in the household recycling bin once they are clean, dry and loose
€490k new funding announced to help create a 'circular economy' in Ireland
Ten projects will be chosen to receive the funding.
Irish people recycled a lot of electrical waste last year - mostly kettles
There was a 9% increase in electronic waste recycling per person last year.
EPA warns 'single-use and throwaway culture' leading to significant waste levels and decline in recycling
Recycling of packaging waste has declined from 70% in 2013 to 64% in 2018.
Ban on some single-use plastic and levy on disposable cups: The government's plan to tackle waste
The five-year plan aims to “place Ireland at the vanguard of EU efforts”.
Nationwide post-lockdown electrical goods buying spree sees record recycling levels
WEEE Ireland said it recovered 3,763 tonnes of electrical waste in July.
Poll: Is on-street recycling a good idea?
Dublin City Council is considering a re-trial of street recycling bins.
Dublin City Council considers re-trial of street recycling bins
The council previously trialed the idea at two city centre locations in 2018.
McDonald's to trial recycling unwanted plastic toys into new products such as coffee cups
The initial trial will run for four weeks in seven restaurants in the UK and Ireland.
Coffee cups to be hit with levy of up to 25 cent under new plastic crackdown plans
A levy on fast-food takeaway containers is also on the way.
Ireland's first reverse vending machine allows people to recycle plastic bottles in return for 10c vouchers
The machine is located in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan.
'Can we get away from plastics? No. Can we use plastics better? Yes.'
In the latest episode of Ireland 2029, we’ve looked at the country going plastic free before the end of the next decade.
Ireland surpasses all EU recycling targets including plastics, glass and metal
Ireland currently recycles 33% of all plastics, which needs to rise to 50% in 2025 and 55% by 2030 to meet EU targets.
These unique new labels are to make recycling easier in Ireland
The system is supposed to help consumers see which items are widely recycled, and which aren’t recyclable.
Canada is planning to ban single-use plastics as early as 2021
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement today.
Ministers to order State bodies to decarbonise under new Climate Action Plan
Public agencies will have to reduce food waste, promote water conservation, and roll out recycling practices.
Lidl says it's introducing in-store recycling stations across the country
The supermarket chain said that recycling stations will rolled out next month.
FactCheck: Are supermarkets required to accept plastic packaging, if you leave it at the checkout?
Supermarkets have pledged that they take extensive efforts at recycling, but do they have to accept if you want to leave them behind?
The government is declaring war in 2019 (on single-use plastics)
Unnecessary use of the plastics will be completely banned in the public sector.
Other influencers should follow Samantha Ravndahl's lead when it comes to accepting PR
Her reasoning for doing so is pretty sound.
'Perhaps we are wrong': Government to examine bottle deposit scheme 'afresh'
The Green Party said Ireland is sitting on its hands and waiting for the EU to legislate on plastics.
Poll: Do you make efforts to reduce how much single-use plastics you buy?
Lidl has confirmed that by next year it will have discontinued the sale of single-use plastics in its Irish stores.
Lidl Ireland won't be selling single-use plastics after next year
But they aren’t going as far as their stores in the UK just yet.
To reach EU targets Ireland needs to increase its plastic recycling by 80%
According to Repak, Ireland’s plastic recycling must increase to 175,000 tonnes by 2030 to reach new EU targets.
'Compostable cup for your coffee sound good? It all depends on where it ends up'
Recyclable and compostable options are only truly beneficial if they end up, and are processed, in the correct waste facility, writes industry expert Brian O’Sullivan.
22,000 coffee cups are disposed of in Ireland every hour
There is talk that a so-called latte levy might be introduced to combat waste.