New levies to incentivise recycling to come into force next month
Regulations include a new waste recovery levy of €10 and a hike of €10 to the landfill levy
Ossian Smyth, the junior minister with responsibility for the circular economy, has signed new regulations aimed at encouraging household recycling and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill or incineration.
The Waste Management and Circular Economy regulations both come into effect on September 1 with a waste recovery levy of €10 per tonne being introduced and the landfill levy being increased by €10 to €85 per tonne.
The new levies follow a report from Eurostat that Ireland has the highest plastic packaging waste per head in the EU at 61kg per capita in 2020 while also have one of the lowest recycling rates, with just 29 per cent of plastic being recycled.
