How Much Waste Does Ireland Produce?

Croke Park as a rubbish dump

Ireland, per head of population, is among the highest waste producers in Europe. Irish people on average produce the largest amount of municipal waste (per-person) in the EU. Our waste every year would fill Croke Park to the top of the stands.

A framework to deal with the litter problem in Ireland is provided by the Litter Pollution Acts 1997 to 2009. The Litter Action Plan was produced following the National Anti-Litter Forum report produced in 2000.  In May 2010, the 2009 National Litter Pollution Monitoring System report was published by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. It revealed that pedestrians caused the highest level of litter pollution at 38.3% and passing motorists were the next highest offenders of litter pollution nationally at 18.3%. Following the publication of this report, then Minister for the Environment Mr John Gormley announced that he would establish an Action Group to address the problem of litter pollution in the countryside and along roadsides.

Unfortunately, illegal dumping is very common in Ireland. It is unnecessary and causes a lot of concern for our countryside and all the wildlife that inhabits it. In order to combat illegal dumping in the upland Dublin/Wicklow areas, the Protecting Uplands and Rural Environments (PURE) Project was initiated in 2006. Each month, the PURE Project collects 30 tonnes of illegally dumped waste in these areas.

With so much waste around it is little wonder that there is increasing pressure on landfill sites and other waste infrastructure.The capacity of these dumps has improved since 2001, largely due to the licensing of additional and extended landfill facilities. A number of regions continue to have very limited landfill capacity remaining.