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

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29/09/09
collections has tended to improve the capture of those which were already
being targeted. In particular, yields of dry recyclables have increased when
biowaste collections have been introduced. This suggests there may be an
effect on recycling rates for paper and card anyway, purely as a result of the
roll-out of ‘brown bins’. There is likely to be some room for further
improvement in services, but also, in the nature of incentives used to
encourage waste producers to make use of recycling services already
available;
� The capture of organics would need to be in excess of 25% of total. This does
not seem impossible from the perspective of collection, but a key hurdle would
be the availability of suitable treatment capacity. This would, after all, need to
be ‘on-stream’ for the whole of 2010 (i.e. up and running in five months time).
This is clearly a challenge;
� The capture of textiles would need to be increased, especially from the
household stream. The textiles fraction as measured in the Waste
Characterisation report, is unusually high for household waste (compared with
other countries). 1036 However, around half of this is, on closer inspection,
nappies. The recycling of textiles is, according to many studies, highly
beneficial from the perspective of greenhouse gas emissions. 1037 It is notable
that many collection permits do not specify a requirement to collect textiles
separately. Figure 51-3 showed uncaptured textiles as the second largest
single uncaptured fraction, after the organic fraction, in the household waste
stream, but around half of this is nappies (so more amenable to waste
prevention and re-use than recycling per se). 1038 The target capture in the
National Biodegradable Waste Strategy is 15% for 2010, but there is little by
way of clear signs that this target will be met. 1039 The 15% target in the
National Biodegradable Waste strategy relates to all textiles, including
nappies, so implies a recycling rate of the order 30% of non-nappy textiles.
Prognos reports recycling rates of 41% for Austria, 46% for France, 49% for
Belgium and 53% for Germany. 1040 It is not clear whether or not these ‘textile’
1036 The EPA 2007 figures amount to around 50kg per inhabitant for Ireland in the municipal stream
alone. Prognos reports that only Austria produces more textile waste than Ireland on a per capita basis,
and that the average for EU countries is around 25kg per inhabitant. The figure reported for the
household waste stream in Waste Characterisation reports is 12.2%. By way of comparison, the UK
reports that textile wastes are around 3% of municipal waste (which, in the UK, is mainly household
waste). Our experience in other countries suggests that figures of the order 4% are more typical,
although the age of ‘the disposable clothing item’ is clearly encroaching as real prices fall.
1037 See Annex 63.0.
1038 There are proceses which can recycle nappies, but they essentially require the nappies to be
collected separately in the first place.
1039 It should be noted that the 15% target in the National Biodegradable Waste strategy relates to all
textiles, including nappies, so implies a recycling rate of the order 30% of non-nappy textiles.
1040 Prognos (2008) European Atlas of Secondary Raw Materials: 2004 Status Quo and Potentials,
January 2008.