The Irish Government has introduced new regulations aimed at promoting recycling and reducing the volume of waste that goes to to landfills and incineration.

The Waste Management (Landfill Levy)(Amendment) Regulations 2023 and the Circular Economy (Waste Recovery Levy) Regulations 2023 will both come into effect on 01 September.

The legislation introduces a waste recovery levy of €10 per tonne (or 1,000kg), and a €10 increase to the existing 'landfill levy' to €85 per tonne. As the levies apply only to 'black' bin waste, householders can manage the impact of this charge by sorting their waste and reusing and recycling as much as possible to minimise their overall household waste charges.

-- Advertisement --

Minister of State with special responsibility for Communications and Circular Economy, Ossian Smyth, said: "The key message for households and businesses is that more recycling means lower costs.

"Ireland has a proven track record of successfully introducing environmental levies, with both the landfill levy and the plastic bag levy being excellent examples of how such measures can help to change how we manage our waste.

"The success of these measures is evident from the significant reductions in recent years of waste disposed of at landfills and the reduced use of disposable plastic bags.

"Ireland has already reduced the number of landfills from 121 in 1992, to three landfills today. We want to reduce this number even further, which is why we are introducing these levies.

"In doing so, I am confident that Ireland can reach the top tier of EU performance in terms of waste and the circular economy, and meet our 2025 and 2030 EU waste targets."