Ireland risks missing key EU targets because we are generating "significantly" more rubbish and recycling less and less of it.
That's according to a new Environmental Protection Agency report.
It says 3.1 million tonnes of municipal waste was created in 2019, a six per cent rise, making Ireland's rubbish pile the biggest it has been since 2009.
But recycling rates have fallen by a tenth since 2016, with plastic recycling here lagging well behind the EU average.
The EPA today launched its National Waste Statistics Summary Report 2019 which shows that waste generation in Ireland continues to rise, while recycling rates are falling. Read the report here: https://t.co/TErWoWG24V #circulareconomy #recycling #recycle pic.twitter.com/RNYZP4JFNW
— EPA Ireland (@EPAIreland) December 3, 2021
69 per cent of plastic waste was burnt that year. Tara Higgins, senior scientist with the EPA, says that could have been avoided.
She says almost 40,000 tonnes of plastic and 13,000 tonnes of aluminum that could have been recycled, were incinerated instead.
