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

In the above scenario, with captures of textiles and wood kept constant, there would
still be 227,592 tonnes more biodegradable waste in residual waste than could be
landfilled (see Figure 56-1). This would be equivalent, in this year, to the BMW
contained within a total of 323,564 tonnes of residual waste.
Figure 56-1: Estimated Performance Against 2010 Landfill Directive Target (25%
Capture of Organics, 55% Capture of Paper and Card, No Increase in Captures of
Textiles and Wood from 2007 Levels)
Waste Quantities (tonnes)
827
3,500,000
3,000,000
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
0
Distance to target =
227,592 tonnes BMW
2007 2008 2009 2010
International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes
Year
MSW
BMW
Recycling of Paper and Card
Recycling of Textiles
Recycling of Wood
Collection of Biowaste for Composting /
Digestion
BMW in Residual Waste
If this scenario is deemed a credible starting point, then in order to meet targets, one
or more of the following would need to happen:
� Waste quantities would need to be lower than projected here. Note that
because it has not been made clear exactly how attempts to reduce the
quantity of biodegradable waste in the waste stream will be accounted for in
Ireland, it is not clear how prevention activity will affect performance against
the BMW targets. If the EPA’s intention is to assume that all households with a
particular type of system generate waste of the same composition, then it may
be just as beneficial to reduce the quantity of rubble as it will be to reduce the
quantity of food waste; 1035
� Paper and card recycling rates would need to be in excess of 55%. Our
experience in the UK is that the addition of further materials to recycling
1035 This is a problem – in terms of the perverse consequences of mass balance calculations – that
has been widely discussed in the UK in the context of the LASs (see Annex 55.0).