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Wednesday 31 May 2023 Dublin: 8°C

# Waste

Last month
May 2023
# Fingal
Council gets temporary court order preventing recycling facility from accepting any more waste
The order requires the respondents to immediately cease accepting any further waste at the facility.
# Waste Management
The public is being asked to have their say on a new plan to deal with waste in Ireland
The National Waste Management Plan aims to encourage sustainable consumption.
This year
2023
# 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 Charge
Waste company Panda criticised after new €3.80 brown bin charge announced
A charge of €3.80 per collection is due to be introduced by 8 May.
# Waste
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
# Waterford
Council criticised by auditor for not recovering €700k bill for clearing ex-mayor's landfill
Declan Doocey, a Fine Gael councillor, served as Mayor of Waterford City and County between 2018 and 2019.
# recycling
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.
Voices
Cafe owner: We are being persecuted by the 'latte levy' due to come in
Restaurant owner Peter Shanahan says businesses like his have done all they can to work sustainably and the new coffee cup levy will hurt that effort.
# food waste
UK labour shortage causes unpicked food to rot in fields
Ukrainians had temporarily partly filled the gap but since the Russian invasion many have been stuck in their homeland.
THE MORNING LEAD
New polling finds widespread support for 20c levy on disposable cups
A report by
Céimin Burke
Legislation to create the so-called ‘latte levy’ was signed into law in recent weeks.
Nearly three-quarters of people are in favour of the latte levy.
The measure is due to be introduced before the end of the year.
Environmentalists say it will help tackle waste but restaurateurs argue it will hurt small businesses.
# Reusables
Circular Economy Act signed into law with disposable cup levy due before end of year
The levy on disposable cups – the best-known feature of the act – aims to help phase out single-use products.
All time
# recycling
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.
Voices
Opinion: 'We can't export our way out of our fast fashion addiction'
Caitriona Rogerson highlights the social and environmental cost of the second-hand clothing trade on African countries.
# recycling
More than one million tonnes of packaging waste created in Ireland for third year in a row
Our recycling rate has continued to decline.
# dose wastage
15 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been wasted in the US since March – report
Reasons for dose wastage include cracked vials, errors in diluting vaccines, freezer malfunctions and more doses in a vial than people who want them.
# Waste
Levy on disposable coffee cups to be introduced in coming months
The fee could be introduced later this year or early next year.
# Scotland
Millions of new smart TVs, laptops and other items in Amazon warehouse marked 'destroy'
A probe found that items earmarked for destruction at a Scottish warehouse.
# What a waste
Poll: Have you noticed more litter in your area during lockdown?
Fine Gael Senator Regina Doherty recently hit out at the “phenomenal” amount of dog faeces in Irish villages.
Opinion: 'The litter-picker was in the post. I was snookered'
Rory McNab shares his newfound love of collecting litter along Dublin’s Grand Canal, which has provided an unexpected pick-me-up in lockdown.
# Poll
Poll: Will you try to limit your waste this Christmas?
Limiting waste isn’t always at the top of the priority list at Christmas.
Voices
Opinion: Why the planet needs us to cut our consumption this Christmas
Environmental campaigner Lyndsey O’Connell explains how our online festive shopping habits are leading to an excess of cardboard and plastic waste.
# hazardous waste
EPA: Ireland lacks adequate facilities to process the hazardous waste it generates
581,000 tonnes of hazardous waste were produced in Ireland in 2019.
# EPA
Raw sewage from 35 towns and villages flows into our environment every day
The Environmental Protection Agency is sharply critical of Irish Water in its latest report.
# Rubbish
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.
# Howth
'I don't believe they'll fix it by 2024': Irish Water inspects raw sewage spilling into Doldrum Bay
“They’ve failed to keep any of their promises to date,” one local said of the water utility.
# lockdown littering
There's been a 50% surge in requests to deal with illegal dumping in Dublin
The authority called the increase “disappointing and unacceptable”.
# climate action
Mandatory brown bin collections could be introduced under new waste strategy
The government will also examine expanding the range of items allowed in the green bin and banning bulky waste from landfill.
# Illegal dumping
Map of legal waste collection companies launched in bid to tackle illegal dumping
Illegal dumping is a major problem for communities across the country.
# recycling
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.
# Waste
Single-use plastics ban Bill aims to put biodegradable packaging on supermarket shelves
This Bill would leapfrog over the government’s strategy, which Fianna Fáil has said is slow to materialise.
# big beach clean
This initiative is calling for people to clean up marine litter from Irish coasts this weekend
Events for the Big Beach Clean 2019 are happening around the country this weekend.
# Your Say
Poll: Have you ever left your tent behind after a festival?
Last year, bulldozers were brought in to clear thousands of leftover tents after Electric Picnic.
# no waste
Is it really possible to live a zero waste life? I tried for a week (and did a terrible job)
It is definitely possible to significantly reduce your day-to-day waste … but it’s harder than it sounds.
# samantha ravndahl
Other influencers should follow Samantha Ravndahl's lead when it comes to accepting PR
Her reasoning for doing so is pretty sound.
# Waste
'Communities will be united': Groups around Ireland to take part in World Cleanup Day
Next Saturday, groups who take part join together to clean up illegal waste in their local area.
Voices
'Festival waste? It's not new - we're a disposable nation and we need to change our attitude'
Green Party Councillor Claire Byrne knows all about trying to keep festival sites clean – and says we need to stop seeing tents as disposable, and look at what we can do to clean up after ourselves.
# Environment
Thousands of tents left behind at Electric Picnic campsite cleared by bulldozers
One festival attendee said that there was “millions of euro worth of stuff left behind”.
Voices
'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.
# plastic waste
The global war on plastic has left manufacturers rethinking their straw productions
Eight million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the Earth’s oceans and seas each year.
# Funding
County breakdown: Here's how much is being spent tackling illegal dumping
An anti-dumping initiative supported 229 projects across the country last year.