Repak Ireland has welcomed the findings on packaging recycling contained in ‘Environmental Indicators Ireland 2012’, the report just published by the CSO, which highlights Ireland’s ever improving approach to the recycling of packaging. It is part of a detailed piece of research, by the CSO, based around environmental data.
Dr Andrew Hetherington, chief executive of Repak Ireland, comments: “This National Survey clearly demonstrates the success of Ireland’s packaging recycling model with key targets for recovery all being exceeded. The statistics contained in the report, when analysed, confirm Ireland’s progressive performance in packaging recovery and recycling over the past decade and our steady assent up the league table of European Member State performance in this area.”
He adds: “Specifically, it shows that Ireland’s 2011 recovery target of 60% under the EC Packaging Directive (94/62/EC) was achieved and surpassed by 2008 and I can now confirm that we have achieved a 74% recovery rate for 2010.”
The statistics show that by 2009 Ireland was recovering 152Kgs per capita of packaging waste, the third highest in the EC behind Germany and Luxembourg.
“It is also very encouraging to note that the amount of municipal waste sent to landfill had fallen to just below 1.5 million tonnes in 2010, down from some 2 million tonnes in 2007,” he points out. “While a significant portion of this can be attributed to the decline in economic conditions, the increase in recovery of packaging waste, which now accounts for some 59% of municipal waste, had a significant impact here also.”
Repak’s Packaging Prevention Programme was a further factor in the decline of packaging waste generation, as the total level of packaging waste decreased by some 18% between 2007 and 2010. This initiative, which receives financial support from the EPA, involves Repak working with industry to optimise all packaging placed on the Irish market.
Since its inception, Repak has helped to divert in excess of 5.7 million tons of used packaging from landfill sites and has invested over Eur225 million in packaging recycling, growing it from under 15% in 1998.