How much waste does Ireland produce? The estimate for 2026 is 15.6 million tonnes, or roughly 34.3 billion pounds.
Eurostat last measured the total in 2022, at 15.3 million tonnes, or 2,944 kg per person against an EU average of 4,981 kg. Just under half of it was soil, stone and other mineral waste, a far smaller share than across the EU.
Ireland generated 15.3 million tonnes of waste in 2022, only the 19th-largest total in the EU. Its packaging tells a different story, at 223 kg per person in 2023, the most of any member state with a figure.
Ireland's waste year by year (2012-2026)
Eurostat measures national waste every two years, so the table runs on even years from 2012, carried forward from 2022 to 2026, with each change set against the previous reading.
| Year | Tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 15,570,773 | +0.8 million (+5.4%) |
| 2024 | 14,770,608 | -0.6 million (-3.8%) |
| 2022 | 15,348,488 | -0.8 million (-5.2%) |
| 2020 | 16,192,033 | +2.2 million (+15.8%) |
| 2018 | 13,986,757 | -1.3 million (-8.3%) |
| 2016 | 15,251,689 | +0.1 million (+0.6%) |
| 2014 | 15,166,830 | +2.5 million (+19.3%) |
| 2012 | 12,713,021 | baseline |
Note: Eurostat's waste generation collection, covering all economic activities plus households. 2022 is the newest year published, so the 2024 and 2026 rows are our estimates, built on the EPA's yearly figures. Older Irish readings swing sharply between waste types, so the table starts at 2012.
Ireland's total rose by 2.6 million tonnes, or 20.7%, between 2012 and 2022, but it never moved in one direction for long. Rises in 2014 and 2020 alternated with falls in 2018 and 2022.
The European Environment Agency (EEA), in its March 2025 profile of Ireland, reads that flat line as waste breaking away from economic growth. Even on corrected gross national income, which leaves out large incomes flowing in and out of the country, the economy grew 44% between 2010 and 2022.
Behind Ireland's 2024 and 2026 estimates
Eurostat's series stops at 2022, but Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) counts two big parts of the country's waste every year. Its construction and demolition figures and its municipal waste figures both run to 2024.
Those two series match the two halves of Eurostat's 2022 total, soil, stone and other mineral waste on one side and everything else on the other. The table moves each half by the change the EPA recorded between 2022 and 2024.
| Part of the total | Change 2022-2024 | 2024 estimate (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| Soil, stone and other mineral waste | -5.0% | 7,074,119 |
| All other waste | -2.6% | 7,696,490 |
| Total | -3.8% | 14,770,608 |
Note: EPA construction and demolition waste (8,267,813 tonnes in 2022, 7,852,393 in 2024) and municipal waste (3,191,000 and 3,108,749), applied to Eurostat's 2022 figures of 7,448,365 tonnes of mineral waste and 7,900,123 tonnes of other waste.
The method was tested on years Eurostat has already measured. Run from 2018 it put 2020 3.6% too high, and run from 2020 it put 2022 5.5% too high, so the 2024 figure is more likely to sit on the high side than the low.
From 2024 to 2026
The EPA's figures stop at 2024, so 2026 rests on two stated assumptions.
- Mineral waste returns to its usual level. The EPA notes that construction and demolition waste has moved between about 8 and 9 million tonnes a year since 2019, so it is set at its 2020 to 2024 average rather than at the 2024 low.
- Everyday waste grows with the population. Ireland's population grew 3.0% between January 2024 and January 2026, and the rest of the waste moves by the same amount, with waste per person held at its 2024 level.
Together they give 15.6 million tonnes for 2026, 5.4% more than in 2024 and 1.4% more than Eurostat measured in 2022.
How wide the range is
At the low end, the 2026 figure is cut by 9.2%, the most the method overshot across four measured years, which gives 14.3 million tonnes.
At the high end, mineral waste returns to its 2021 peak in the EPA count and everyday waste rises 10.2%, the largest two-year rise in Irish municipal waste since 2012, which gives 16.6 million tonnes.
How Ireland changed its waste rules
Ireland generated 0.7% of the EU's 2.23 billion tonnes of waste in 2022, the 19th-largest total among the 27 member states, and it ranked 19th per person too. Since then the rules around that waste have moved quickly, and none of these four changes shows in the 2022 figure.
- Packaging producers must join a scheme. Since 1 January 2023 a producer placing more than 10 tonnes of packaging a year on the Irish market, with turnover above 1 million euros, can no longer comply alone and has to join Repak.
- Disposal costs more. Since September 2023 the landfill levy has stood at 85 euros a tonne, the EEA reports, and a new levy of 10 euros a tonne applies to municipal waste sent to incinerators and other recovery plants, or exported to them.
- A food bin for every household. Waste collectors have had to offer every household customer a food and garden waste collection since January 2024, and every business customer a three-bin service since July 2023.
- A deposit on drinks containers. Ireland's deposit return scheme for plastic drinks bottles and drinks cans went live on 1 February 2024.
Households already pay by weight or by lift for the rubbish they put out, a system in place since flat-rate collection fees were removed in 2018.
What is Ireland's waste made of?
Counted by what it is, here is how Ireland's 2022 total breaks down, set beside the same types' shares across the EU.
| Type of waste | Ireland | EU |
|---|---|---|
| Soil | 24.5% | 22.1% |
| Other mineral waste | 17.3% | 25.1% |
| Household and similar waste | 13.5% | 5.8% |
| Construction and demolition rubble | 6.7% | 14.6% |
| Food and animal waste | 5.7% | 1.0% |
| Paper and cardboard | 5.4% | 2.0% |
| Everything else | 26.8% | 29.4% |
Note: Eurostat's waste generation collection, 2022 reference year. Shares are rounded, and the Irish lines add up to the full total of 15,348,488 tonnes.
Soil, stone and other mineral waste made up 48.5% of the Irish total, against 64.4% across the EU. That leaves an unusually large share of everyday waste, with household-type rubbish at more than twice its EU share and food waste at more than five times.
Who produced Ireland's waste
Counted instead by who reported it, Irish factories were the largest single source in 2022, with 31.3% of the total against 10.3% across the EU. Construction came second at 18.5%, about half its EU share, and mining made up 8.8% against 22.4% across the EU.
That does not mean Ireland builds little. The EPA counts construction and demolition waste by what it is rather than who produced it, and on that basis put it at 8.3 million tonnes in 2022, of which 6.7 million was soil, stones and dredging spoil.
The municipal waste Irish homes put out
Ireland generated 590 kg of municipal waste per person in 2023, the newest year on Eurostat's record for it, against an EU average of 511 kg. Ireland has not reported a 2024 figure to Eurostat yet.
That is above the average, though countries differ in how much commercial waste they count as municipal, so part of the gap is a counting difference. The EEA, citing the EPA's bin surveys, puts most of Ireland's rise between 2014 and 2020 down to more packaging.
Irish packaging waste tops the EU per person
This is the slice of Irish waste that extended producer responsibility makes producers pay for, mostly through their fees to Repak.
Ireland generated 1,185,195 tonnes of packaging waste in 2023. That is 223 kg per person, the most of the 23 member states with a figure, ahead of Italy at 220 kg and Germany at 215 kg, against an EU average of 178 kg.
Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary and Poland had not reported a 2023 figure. The EPA has since published 2024 at 1,191,862 tonnes, and puts the rise since 2016 at 20%.
Here is the 2023 total by material, with the share of each that was recycled.
| Material | Tonnes | Recycled |
|---|---|---|
| Paper and cardboard | 483,351 | 75.7% |
| Plastic | 353,388 | 29.6% |
| Glass | 169,713 | 83.3% |
| Wood | 95,435 | 69.6% |
| Metal | 72,734 | 54.4% |
| Other | 10,574 | 0.0% |
Note: Eurostat's packaging waste collection, 2023 reference year, with recycling shares on the basis set for the 2025 targets. The six lines add up to the reported total.
Paper and cardboard made up 40.8% of Irish packaging and plastic 29.8%. Fewer than three in ten tonnes of that plastic were recycled, against 41.7% across the EU.
Who pays for packaging in Ireland?
Ireland has no state register for packaging. A major producer, one placing more than 10 tonnes a year on the Irish market with turnover above 1 million euros, registers by joining Repak, which Irish law calls an approved body. Its fees vary with how recyclable the packaging is, the EEA notes.
Under the EU packaging regulation, a seller abroad shipping straight to Irish consumers counts as the producer itself and has to appoint an authorised representative. Repak also takes applications from such sellers directly.
Electronics and batteries are a separate registration, with PRL, Ireland's producer register for those streams. Everything a producer selling into Ireland must register for is set out on Repax's Ireland EPR overview, and the packaging detail on packaging EPR in Ireland.
Is Ireland recycling enough for the EU targets?
Ireland recycled 61.0% of its packaging in 2023, against 67.4% across the EU, 18th among the 23 member states with a figure. The rate has slipped from 67.0% in 2016.
Part of that slide is counting. Ireland applied the EU's stricter rules on what counts as recycled from 2019, the EEA notes, while packaging grew faster than recycling kept up.
The EU packaging regulation sets recycling targets in its Article 52, due by the end of 2025 and the end of 2030. The table sets Ireland's 2023 rates against both.
| Packaging | Targets 2025 / 2030 | Irish rate |
|---|---|---|
| All packaging | 65% / 70% | 61.0% |
| Paper and cardboard | 75% / 85% | 75.7% |
| Glass | 70% / 75% | 83.3% |
| Ferrous metals | 70% / 80% | 66.3% |
| Aluminium | 50% / 60% | 40.3% |
| Wood | 25% / 30% | 69.6% |
| Plastic | 50% / 55% | 29.6% |
Note: Regulation (EU) 2025/40, Article 52(1). Ireland's rates are Eurostat's, 2023 reference year.
On its 2023 figures Ireland met three of the seven targets due by 2025, for paper and cardboard, glass and wood. Ferrous metals were 3.7 percentage points short, the overall rate 4.0, aluminium 9.7 and plastic 20.4.
Where Irish municipal waste goes
In 2023 Ireland sent 42.5% of its municipal waste to incineration with energy recovery, against 25.3% across the EU, and recycled 41.9%, below the EU's 47.9%.
The remaining 14.4% went to landfill or other disposal. EU rules require that share to fall to 10% or less by 2035, and the EEA notes that Ireland's landfill share fell mainly because waste moved to incinerators.
For producers weighing up software to handle their Repak reporting, there is a ranked guide to Irish EPR software.
Frequently asked questions about Ireland's waste
Below are the eight questions readers ask most about Ireland's waste figures.
How much waste does Ireland produce each year?
Ireland is estimated to produce around 15.6 million tonnes of waste in 2026, up from the 15.3 million Eurostat measured in 2022. That 2022 total was the 19th-largest in the EU, at 2,944 kg per person against an EU average of 4,981 kg.
Can Ireland's waste be compared with other countries?
Only with care. Eurostat notes that the gaps between countries reflect wealth and consumption, but also how each one collects and manages its municipal waste, so part of any difference between Ireland and its neighbours is counting rather than rubbish.
How much packaging waste does Ireland generate?
Ireland generated 1,185,195 tonnes of packaging waste in 2023, or 223 kg per person, the most of the 23 EU countries with a figure. Paper and cardboard made up 40.8% of it and plastic 29.8%.
Why do Eurostat and the EPA give different construction figures?
They count different things. Eurostat's sector figure counts waste by who reported it, 2.8 million tonnes from construction in 2022, while the EPA counts construction and demolition waste by what it is, 8.3 million tonnes, most of it soil and stones.
Does Ireland meet the EU packaging recycling targets?
On its 2023 figures Ireland met three of the seven targets due by 2025, for paper and cardboard, glass and wood. Its overall rate was 61.0% against a 65% target, and plastic packaging was 20.4 points short at 29.6%.
How much of Ireland's municipal waste is burned?
In 2023 Ireland sent 42.5% of its municipal waste to incineration with energy recovery, against 25.3% across the EU. It recycled 41.9% and sent 14.4% to landfill or other disposal, above the 10% ceiling the EU sets for 2035.
Does Ireland have a deposit return scheme?
Yes. Since 1 February 2024 plastic drinks bottles and aluminium and steel drinks cans carry a deposit that is paid back when they are returned. The scheme started after the newest packaging figures on this page, which are for 2023.
Who has to join Repak?
A producer placing more than 10 tonnes of packaging a year on the Irish market, with turnover above 1 million euros, must be a Repak member since self-compliance ended on 1 January 2023. Smaller producers still have record-keeping duties under Irish law.
Images: Mucklagh
