EPA publishes national criteria for recycled aggregates

Construction waste is Ireland’s largest waste stream, and current recycling rates are too low. Implementation of new national end-of-waste criteria will reduce construction waste going to landfills, and increase recycling rates. Use of end-of-waste criteria for recycled aggregates will support green procurement in the built environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published National […]

Ireland’s ambition to move towards the health-based WHO air quality guidelines will be challenging, but will have a significantly positive impact on health

Ø  Air quality in Ireland is generally good, however, there are concerning localised issues. Ø  Ireland met all of its EU legal requirements in 2022, but it did not meet the more stringent health-based World Health Organisation (WHO) Air Quality guidelines. Ø  It is estimated that there are approximately 1,300 premature deaths annually in Ireland due to poor air […]

Urgent action needed to improve Ireland’s household and commercial waste segregation and recycling performance – EPA

Over two thirds of wastes in general waste bins could have been placed in the recycling or organic waste bins. Food waste in commercial general waste bins is 30 per cent and in household general bins is 17 per cent. Plastics in the general waste bins are also significant for households (17 per cent) and […]

Ireland generated 1.2 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2021 – EPA calls for measures to urgently tackle packaging waste

Ireland generated 1.2 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2021. Ireland is continuing to achieve high levels of recycling for glass (84 percent) and paper/cardboard (73 percent). Plastics present a serious challenge. Only 28 percent of plastic packaging waste was recycled in 2021, a long way off the 2025 EU target of 50 percent. The […]

Drinking Water Quality in Public Supplies report for 2022 – EPA

The quality of drinking water from public supplies remains very high, with over 99.7% of samples compliant with bacterial and chemical limits. 481,000 people are currently served by “at-risk” supplies on the EPA’s Remedial Action List (RAL), up from 374,000 people in 2021. Persistent THM (Trihalomethane) failures were detected at supplies serving 235,000 people, doubling the population […]

EPA calls on food sector businesses to commit to reducing food waste by signing the Food Waste Charter

Approximately 800,000 tonnes of food waste is generated in Ireland each year. Ireland has committed to halving food waste by 2030 under UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3. Signing the Food Waste Charter is a pledge to take action to reduce food waste. Membership of the Food Waste Charter is open to businesses that produce, process, […]

EPA finds no significant improvement in the water quality of rivers and lakes

Overall, there is no significant improvement in the biological quality of our rivers or lakes in 2022; improvements are happening in some areas but these are offset by declines elsewhere. When excess nutrients – nitrogen and phosphorus – enter our water courses, they cause an overgrowth of plants and algae. This in turn clogs up […]

Ireland projected to fall well short of climate targets, says EPA

EPA Projections indicate that: Ireland will achieve a reduction of 29 per cent in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 compared to a target of 51 per cent. Almost all sectors are on a trajectory to exceed their national sectoral emissions ceilings for 2025 and 2030, including Agriculture, Electricity Transport and Industry. The first two […]

New EPA Online portal will provide greater transparency and easier public access to environmental enforcement information

EPA providing improved access to environmental enforcement information with the launch of Phase 1 of a new online portal (LEAP Online). From today, the public will be able to access site visit reports, licensees’ responses to those reports, licensee requests for approval from the EPA, monitoring results and site updates. All communications between EPA and […]

Growth in agricultural activity driving increased ammonia emissions in Ireland in 2021 – EPA

Ireland’s ammonia emissions increased by 1% in 2021 as the impact of higher livestock numbers and fertiliser use outpaced the impact of emission reduction measures currently being implemented at farm level Ireland is non-compliant with our EU Emissions Reduction commitment in 2021 for Ammonia. Compliance with the 2030 Reduction Commitment is only possible with full […]

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