Municipal waste generated in Ireland was 3.19 million tonnes in 2022, up slightly by 0.6% from the 2021 figure of 3.17 million tonnes.
Due to population growth, the municipal waste per capita figure fell from 625 kilogrammes per capita in 2021 to 615 kilogrammes per capita in 2022.
The proportion of municipal waste sent to landfill in Ireland fell steadily from 2001 to 2018, but has since stabilised. In 2022, just 14% of municipal waste was landfilled compared with 16% in 2021. These figures reflect a significant improvement in waste treatment compared with the 2001-2004 time period, when the average annual rate of municipal waste sent to landfill was 67%.
Ireland generated 637 kilogrammes of municipal waste per capita in 2020. This compares to an EU27 average of 513 kilogrammes per capita in 2022. Austria had the highest figure in the EU in 2022 at 803 kilogrammes per capita, while Romania had the lowest figure at 303 kilogrammes per capita.
| Country | Waste generated |
|---|---|
| Romania | 303 |
| Poland | 364 |
| Estonia | 373 |
| Sweden | 395 |
| Hungary | 407 |
| Latvia | 464 |
| Lithuania | 465 |
| Spain | 466 |
| Netherlands | 473 |
| Croatia | 478 |
| Slovakia | 478 |
| Italy | 486 |
| Slovenia | 487 |
| Bulgaria | 488 |
| Portugal | 508 |
| Greece | 509 |
| EU27 | 513 |
| Finland | 522 |
| France | 535 |
| Czechia | 570 |
| Germany | 606 |
| Malta | 618 |
| Ireland | 637 |
| Cyprus | 673 |
| Belgium | 690 |
| Luxembourg | 721 |
| Denmark | 802 |
| Austria | 803 |
The recovery rate of packaging waste in Ireland has improved significantly over the 2001 to 2022 time period. In 2022, 91% of packaging waste was recovered, up 1% from 2021, but up significantly from the average annual figure of 39% for the 2001 to 2004 period.
In Ireland the volume of Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) collected has generally increased over the 2007-2022 period.
In 2022, Ireland collected 66,000 tonnes down 8.1% from a peak of 71,800 tonnes in 2021. However, as Figure 9.2 shows, the 2022 figure was the second highest in the entire period from 2007 to 2022.
| Year | Waste collected |
|---|---|
| 2007 | 51.53 |
| 2008 | 50.12 |
| 2009 | 44.81 |
| 2010 | 44.43 |
| 2011 | 39.63 |
| 2012 | 41.18 |
| 2013 | 42.63 |
| 2014 | 44.91 |
| 2015 | 48.63 |
| 2016 | 51.3 |
| 2017 | 52.31 |
| 2018 | 62.71 |
| 2019 | 62.64 |
| 2020 | 64.86 |
| 2021 | 71.81 |
| 2022 | 66.02 |
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