More than 150 delegates attended the 2024 edition of the Irish Waste Management Conference, held on Thursday, 14th March, at the Aviva Stadium. Dr. Geraldine Brennan, along with Government and industry representatives, provided insightful input on the progress and implementation of the circular economy in waste management in Ireland.
Dr. Geraldine Brennan gave the conference an overview of CIRCULÉIRE and displayed some of the members' projects to scale up the utilisation of secondary raw materials and foster circularity. She also highlighted how current and upcoming regulations are enabling and pushing towards more circular business models.
Some of the key takeaways from the other speakers were:
Representatives of DECC and EPA highlighted the inclusion of specific circularity targets on upcoming regulations, such as the second Whole Government Strategy for Circular Economy.
KPMG shared the results of its economic assessment on the Re-municipalisation of household waste management in Ireland, concluding that the management of waste by the private sector has been proven to be more effective and less costly than public management.
The Southern Region Waste Management Office showcased the findings of their project to incentivize food waste separation, which includes the rollout of caddy packs and the establishment of a national food waste recycling week.
The AMCS Group explained how AI could help achieve circularity targets. According to their most recent study, AI could help classify waste at the moment of its collection to avoid the contamination of recycled materials
Industry shared positive news in terms of progress and commitment towards more circular practices. According to REPAK, between 2016-2023, there was a 25% increase in recycled tonnes in Ireland. Coca-Cola shared its commitment to NetZero emission by 2040 and 100% recyclable packaging by 2025.
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