'First look' data

EPA Waste Data Release – 16 November 2022 for reference period to Q3 2022

In this section we present trend data that are available in a more timely fashion than our complete, validated datasets, which are produced to meet legislative requirements. The data can be from administrative data sources, or they may represent a subset of EPA waste statistics data that, due to reduced scope, can be validated more quickly than the full survey. Initially we present data relating to waste accepted at landfills, municipal waste incinerators and cement kilns, helping to provide policy makers and other stakeholders with an early indication of when capacity issues may arise. This section will continue to be expanded over time to include other datasets of particular relevance to our national users.

Highlights

Quarterly Data

• Five landfills accepted municipal waste in 2017 and 2018. This number declined to three in quarter four of 2019 and remained at three until quarter two of 2022. In quarter three of 2022, this number increased to four.
• Since quarter two of 2017, when 205,000 tonnes of municipal waste were accepted at landfill, there has been an overall decrease in the quarterly tonnages reported. The lowest figure, 63,000 tonnes, was reported in quarter four of 2019. Between quarter four of 2019 and quarter three of 2021, there was an overall increase, to 107,000 tonnes, in municipal waste accepted at landfill. This tonnage decreased to 73,000 tonnes in quarter four of 2021 before increasing again in quarter one of 2022. The tonnes increased again, to 156,000 tonnes, in quarter two of 2022; the represents the highest quarterly tonnage of waste accepted since quarter two of 2017. In quarter three of 2022, the number decreased again to 98,230 tonnes. (Figure 1).
• In quarter three of 2022, energy was recovered from more than 263,000 tonnes of municipal waste (excluding waste imported from abroad) through incineration or co-incineration at municipal waste incinerators or cement kilns in Ireland (Figure 2)

Annual Data

• The total tonnage of waste accepted at municipal and inert landfills rose between 2013 and 2016 but dropped in 2017 before increasing again in 2018 and 2019 (Figure 3).
• The increase in waste accepted at landfill in 2019 was due to an increase in construction and demolition waste.
• The municipal waste stream dropped from 684,000 tonnes in 2017 to 410,000 tonnes in 2018 and declined again to 374,000 tonnes in 2019.

Quarterly Data– Landfill and Energy Recovery from Waste Incineration

Municipal landfills submit quarterly data to the EPA on municipal waste they accept. Both municipal and inert landfills complete annual data reporting which includes information on municipal, construction and demolition, and industrial/other waste they accept and dispose of or recover. The data in this section relates to quarterly data reporting; the data in the next section relates to annual landfill data reporting. Please note that the quarterly data are collected specifically to report on the diversion of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) from landfill, which is required by the Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC). The criteria relevant for municipal waste under BMW reporting do not always align with those used for annual reporting. This can lead to differences in tonnages reported under the two regimes. In quarter three of 2022, more than 98,000 tonnes of municipal waste were accepted at three Irish landfills.

Energy recovery as a municipal waste treatment option has become increasingly available over the last decade. This effected a reduction of municipal waste disposal to landfill in Ireland. In 2016, more than 800,000 tonnes of Irish municipal waste were used for energy recovery, and half of this tonnage was treated at municipal waste incinerators or cement kilns located in Ireland. These figures underline the important role energy recovery at Irish facilities plays in connection with municipal waste management. To provide early indications of trends regarding this waste treatment option, EPA now compiles quarterly estimates of the amount of municipal waste that underwent energy recovery at municipal waste incinerators or cement kilns in Ireland.

In quarter three of 2022, over 279,000 tonnes of waste (excluding waste imported from abroad) were used for energy recovery through incineration or co-incineration in Ireland. Approximately 263,000 tonnes of this waste originated from municipal sources (Figure 2).