The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published preliminary figures for municipal solid waste generation and management in 2012.

The figures provide valuable information about how people generate and dispose of municipal waste, and inform Ireland's approach to developing a resource-efficient society.

The figures show that there has been a shift away from landfilling municipal waste in recent years. In 2012, 44% of municipal waste was consigned to landfill compared to 53% in 2011. This change is as a result of increases in the landfill levy and increased opportunities for operators to send municipal waste to recovery solutions.

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An increase in use of waste as a fuel (energy recovery) has contributed significantly to an increased recovery rate for municipal waste. This has arisen for a number of reasons: Ireland's first municipal waste-to-energy incinerator became fully operational in 2012; cement kilns are using waste as a fuel; and the export of refuse derived fuel to waste-to-energy incinerators on the continent has increased.

The initial estimates indicate that the proportion of municipal waste recycled in Ireland in 2012 is 38%, which is down from the 40% recorded in 2011.

Dr Jonathan Derham, EPA said: "This latest evidence shows that Ireland is successfully moving waste management up the waste hierarchy by reducing the disposal of municipal waste to landfill and increasing recovery of secondary value from the waste. Ireland is, therefore, more efficiently using resources and reducing the waste burden on the environment. The decrease in the proportion of municipal waste recycled is a negative trend which needs to be kept under review. We need to continue to focus on waste prevention, reuse and recycling as the economy recovers to avoid an associated increase in waste generation and to ensure efficient use of resources."

(CD/MH)