Diverting food waste from landfill must become the main waste management priority if Ireland is to avoid EU sanctions, the Environmental Protection Agency has said.
In a new report today, the environmental watchdog said the amount of biodegradable municipal waste disposed of to landfill increased by 5 per cent to 1,485,968 tonnes in 2007, leaving Ireland in “danger” of missing its EU targets.
According to the agency, the increase in food waste is moving Ireland further from the first Landfill Directive target of less than one million tonnes of biodegradable municipal waste to be landfilled in 2010.
Under the 1999 EU landfill directive, Ireland will be fined if it fails to meet the target, and at present, 50 per cent more biodegradable waste, including food and garden waste, paper, cardboard, wood and textiles, is being sent to landfill than the target level for 2010.
Launching the National Waste Report 2007, Laura Burke, EPA director, said “Urgent and short-term actions are required in 2009 to tackle the generation and recycling of food waste from households and businesses if we are to meet the 2010 target for diverting an additional half a million tonnes of this waste from landfill".
The EPA's 2007 report also found that generation of hazardous waste increased by 7 per cent to 304,941 tonnes, while construction and demolition waste increased by 6 per cent to 17.8 million tonnes.
Recycling of household waste continued to increase (by 8 per cent in 2007) to an overall recycling rate of 26 per cent. However, this figure remains “a considerable distance” from the target of 50 per cent by 2013 according to the agency.
Commenting on the report’s findings, D. Gerry Byrne, EPA Programme Manager, said: “In a time of increasingly constrained resources, fundamental issues need to be addressed to ensure that waste is managed in an environmentally sustainable manner".
We must also continue to help Irish businesses recognise that there are significant cost savings to be made through more efficient use of raw materials, water and energy, leading to less waste and emissions, he added.