A key part of our journey towards a more sustainable world is a move from a linear to a circular economy. This means moving from a ‘take, make, use and dispose’ system to one in which we use less raw material, we design long-lasting and recyclable products, we share products, and we reuse and repair things before we recycle or throw them away.
But while there have been many success stories in this vital move to a circular economy – the Deposit Recycling Scheme for plastic bottles is a key example – there are signs that we are not moving fast enough, and worse, some experts believe our progress is slowing.
In December 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the Circular Economy and Waste Statistics Highlights Report 2022, which identified that Ireland generated 15.7 million tonnes of waste in 2022, which although a decrease on 2021 figures, still shows a growth of over 20 per cent in the last decade. This figure is equivalent to 8kg per person every day.
“This report from the EPA shows that Ireland’s progress towards a circular economy is stalling,” said David Flynn, director of the Office of Environmental Sustainability at the EPA. “Current measures to prevent waste, to promote reuse and to encourage recycling are not enough to meet mandatory municipal waste and plastic packaging targets. The challenge for Ireland is to reverse these trends and significantly reduce waste production and increase reuse and recycling. Strong implementation of existing policies and the introduction of new measures that support investment in new circular economy infrastructure will help move us away from a wasteful linear economy.”
The report also found that Ireland is now almost certain to miss EU municipal and packaging recycling targets for 2025; our municipal recycling rate remains stagnant at 41 per cent with no significant change in ten years; many construction activities are highly waste intensive, accounting for half of all waste generated; and Ireland has a waste infrastructure gap with over 1.2 million tonnes of municipal waste exported to other countries in 2022.
“Ireland’s economy is characterised by a high consumption of raw materials,” added Warren Phelan, programme manager of the EPA’s Circular Economy Programme. “However ,deeper change is needed right across the economy to accelerate the transition to a more circular economy. Effective regulation, incentives and enforcement are required to influence businesses and consumers to adopt best practices in production, supply, purchasing, use and reuse of goods, products and services.”
To support businesses and individuals in the move to a circular economy, the EPA is the lead of an ambitious and innovative strategy plan, entitled Ireland’s Circular Economy Programme (2021 to 2027).
Several individual research projects and initiatives have been progressed by the programme, in tandem with other stakeholders, including the Rediscovery Centre, which is the National Centre for the Circular Economy; Stop Food Waste, the national campaign to raise awareness on food waste; and the National Food Waste Prevention Programme.
The programme also maintains a competitive package of innovation grants and seed-funding to support circular economy initiatives and supports for new business models and promoting resource efficiency.
Dilution
While strategies such as Ireland’s Circular Economy Programme (2021 to 2027) continues to press ahead and continue our progress to a greener world, unfortunately a dilution of legislation has the potential to slow down industry’s journey to a circular economy.
There has been much talk about the effects of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which required certain companies to identify, report and mitigate adverse human rights and environmental impacts arising from their operations, their subsidiaries and their chain of activities.
Current measures to prevent waste, to promote reuse and to encourage recycling are not enough to meet mandatory municipal waste and plastic packaging targets
However, a proposed update that seeks to simplify the process could potentially derail progress, experts say. This, of course, includes our move to a circular economy.
“The Omnibus proposals are in response to the need for clarity and simplification,” said Tomás Sercovich, chief executive at Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI). “Among the changes proposed is a significant reduction in the volume of companies who could be in scope for CSRD. The proposed threshold is now for companies with over 1,000 employees (up from 250 employees), which would remove around 80 per cent of companies. Secondly, it is proposed to delay implementation by two years to 2028 to allow companies more time to prepare.”
These are just two of the changes in the Omnibus package proposed by the European Commission in February 2025, and a vote on April 3, 2025 approved the ‘stop-the-clock’ mechanism, which refers to an immediate change of deadlines regarding certain directives in the scope of the Omnibus.
While clarity and simplification are important, Sercovich believes that the Omnibus might harm progress. “We believe the Omnibus proposals as presented are disproportionate. We have been working with over a hundred companies over the last few years, and we saw momentum building, with companies embracing better decision-making and building more sustainable business models. There’s a risk with over-simplification that it will lead to de-regulation, and we don’t think that’s healthy.”
He added: “We don’t need a reminder that the need for more sustainable business is still there. Change has to happen. The role of regulation is about creating that level playing field and those incentives that support the business changes.”
Sercovich stressed the need for businesses to keep progressing, and BITCI is there to help. “Last year we launched the Accelerate Pact, which is a collective campaign that asks companies to commit to developing a robust and credible Climate Transition Plan to meet their science-based targets. We aspire to build a centre of excellence in Ireland for developing climate transition plans so companies can learn from each other about best practice and navigate the challenges together in a supportive community.”