The circular economy is about making better use of the products and materials we already have but Ireland is way behind its European neighbours on making the transition, writes Adam Maguire.
That means that we tend to have a straight line from raw materials being pulled out of the ground, made into a product, bought and used by consumers, and then ultimately dumped.And it's that system that’s led to so much waste being produced by households and businesses.Just under 40% of that was recycled – which is actually a big improvement over the past decade. But it still means the majority of our waste is either being dumped, incinerated, or put back into the ground as backfill.
That means repairing or upgrading our products and appliances, rather than replacing them the minute they stop working. So really the goal is to keep things in use for as long as possible, then recycle them as much as possible – and have a much, much smaller flow of materials going to landfill as a result.Like a lot of these attempts at going green, it’s a bit of a mixed bag for Ireland.
That level of waste per person is also going up – it’s up more than 17% in 8 years – so we’re throwing more things out now than before. It’s estimated that 2.7 kilograms of Co2 is emitted for every kilo of plastic burnt– and as the majority of our plastic waste is currently being incinerated rather than recycled, we’re creating a lot more Co2 than we need to.According to the OECD, Ireland’s circular material use rate was 2% in 2020 - compared to nearly 13% across the EU.Well there are groups established here to push the circular economy agenda here – like Circuléire.
They’re also trying to find ways to incentivise the better handling of waste – or in many cases dis-incentivise the mishandling, by adding levies to the less efficient or environmentally friendly disposal of different types of waste. And when it is time to dispose of something, you need to have the systems in place to ensure that different types of waste can easily make their way to the right destination.For example the Labour Party wants the Government to establish a repair and recycle company, run through the local authorities, that would provide a kind of one-stop-shop for people looking to extend the life of their goods, or give them a new leases of life as something else.
And even Apple, which has been one of the worst offenders on repairability of devices over the years, has started to make it a little bit easier for people to get their iPhone screens or batteries replaced.Yes – this has become a major issue in recent years because of the growth of fast fashion and cheap online retailers.
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