New report shows half of Ireland’s waste is construction and demolition waste [Video]

Ireland generated 15.7million tonnes of waste in one year in 2022 – a growth of over 20% in the last decade, new figures from the State’s environmental watchdog show, writes Helen Bruce.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Ireland’s progress towards a circular economy, based on the reuse and recycling of existing materials, is stalling.

The report notes that half of all waste generated in Ireland is construction and demolition waste.

Most of this (85%) is soil and stone waste, but this has decreased, and a large portion of this type of waste was reused in back filling for land restoration, the watchdog noted.

Less encouragingly, the total amount of municipal waste remained relatively static at 3.2million tonnes.

The EPA said 15% of municipal waste was sent to landfill in 2022.

Just over 40% of municipal waste was incinerated, while the rest was exported.

It said the 2022 figure was a drop on …