International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

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advance the Commission of their decision. The Commission shall inform other
Member States and the European Parliament of these decisions.
51.1 Municipal Waste – Quantities and Growth Rates
In Ireland, municipal waste is defined as follows:
household waste as well as commercial, industrial and street cleansing waste
which because of its nature and composition is similar to household waste.
In statistical reporting by the EPA, there appears to be:
1) no commercial waste which is not deemed part of municipal waste;
2) no street cleansing waste which is not deemed part of municipal waste; and
3) no industrial waste which is deemed part of municipal waste.
Indeed, municipal waste appears to be defined as:
Household waste plus street sweepings plus commercial waste,
where the following definitions apply
1) Household Household waste waste is waste produced within the curtilage of a building or selfcontained
part of a building used for the purposes of living accommodation.
2) Commercial Commercial waste waste is the waste that is produced from a number of diverse
sources, including shops, offices and commercial premises, such as paper and
cardboard, plastics, organics and glass etc.
Figure 51-1shows the evolution of the total quantity of municipal waste and its subcomponents
have changed over the last twelve years. It is clear that the quantities
have generally increased.
The total quantity of municipal waste has increased at a compound rate of 5.6% per
annum. This growth rate masks the differences seen in the sub-streams.
As can be seen from Figure 51-1, the contribution to total MSW from street sweepings
is very small. The more important streams are commercial waste and household
waste.
51.1.1 Household Waste
Growth rates for household waste is as follows:
� Household waste 3.8% per annum over the last 12 years;
� Household waste 2% per annum over the last 6 years
� Per capita household waste flat over the last 6 years
Ireland has experienced significant changes in population in recent years. This is
shown in Figure 51-2. The country is effectively returning to population levels of the
1860s, from a low point achieved in the 1960s. Net migration, which has been
negative in every intercensal period bar one since before the 1920s, turned strongly
positive from the 1990s onward.
International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes