Today’s report has confirmed what we’ve long been warning: the government is failing to take meaningful action to meet its recycling targets, according to Social Democrats environment spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore.
Deputy Whitmore said:
“To meet our targets, 400,000 tonnes of additional waste must be recycled annually – yet the government continues to delay investment in domestic recycling infrastructure.
“It’s almost as if the state threw in the towel on recycling initiatives upon the Deposit Return Scheme’s introduction, with no ambition displayed thereafter – this is not going to cut it.
“The Deposit Return Scheme itself is riddled with issues which undermine its function – the government has deemed the measure sufficient, which is far from the truth.
“Our plastic recycling rates are shockingly low at 30%, lagging behind the EU target of 50% – this is a direct result of poor policy decisions, a lack of enforcement, and chronic underfunding.
“To make up this ground, there must be urgent and substantive investment in Ireland’s recycling capacity across a number facilities
“If we are to have any hope of reaching our targets, there must be a drastic expansion of domestic water treatment facilities to reduce our reliance on exports.
“A lack of public education and support for better waste segregation at household level continues to set us back further – state information campaigns must be stepped up as time runs out.
“Budget 2026 must make significant strides when it comes to prioritising our climate and environment goals – until now, this government has paid no more than lip service on what is a defining issue of our generation.
“To start, we must see ring-fenced funding for local authorities to improve waste collection and recycling services.
“It’s imperative a clear roadmap to meeting our 2025 EU recycling targets is drawn up by government – however, it is the opinion of the Environmental Protection Agency that it’s too late.
“Environmental policy should be proactive, yet all we ever see from this government are last minute scrambles to reach goals that are already out of its reach – lessons must be learned from these failings.
September 24th, 2025