Environmental Protection Agency

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

Waste Not, Want Not: Opportunity in the Circular Economy

Businesses should look at the move to a Circular Economy as an opportunity to design out waste, says Sharon Finegan, Director of Environmental Sustainability at the EPA

In 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the latest State of the Environment Report. The assessment found that the overall quality of Ireland’s environment is not what it should be, and the outlook is not optimistic unless we accelerate action.

Latest waste statistics indicate that waste generation is increasing for many waste streams including municipal waste and hazardous waste. Over 100 million tonnes of materials are used annually in Ireland’s economy and Ireland is sixth highest in the EU for domestic material consumption. The link between economic growth, consumption levels and waste generation has not been broken.

CIRCULAR OPPORTUNITY In a circular economy, waste is prevented or reduced at each step of the economic cycle and ensures that the use of raw materials is minimised and resources in the economy are used as effi ciently as possible. In a circular economy consumption of singleuse items is reduced; reuse, repair and remanufacturing activities are incentivised; recycling is maximised, and waste is used as an energy source to replace fossil fuels.

Sharon Finegan, Director of Environmental Sustainability at the EPA, advises, “Businesses should consider the circular economy as an opportunity, and think about the range of opportunities within their particular sectors.”

Circular business models, which decouple growth from the consumption of fi nite resources, not only contribute to a climate-neutral, resource-effi cient economy, but also offer competitive opportunities, and appeal to customers and consumers looking for sustainable options.

“Through the waste characterisation work that we do, we can see that not everybody, be that in businesses or households, is taking the opportunities to segregate waste in the way that they should. We also know from the

Sharon Finegan, Director of Environmental Sustainability, EPA research work that we’ve done, and some of the partnerships that we’ve engaged in already, that designing out waste and keeping materials in use longer really has an impact on targets and emissions.”

Moving to a circular economy will target the 45 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of goods and food and so plays an important role in achieving climate targets.

GREEN RECOVERY The circular economy presents an opportunity for a ‘green’ recovery to rebuild our economy and generate new jobs and skills. The EPA offers a number of supports and funding opportunities to businesses including the Green Enterprise: Innovation for a Circular Economy fund, and Finegan notes that the EPA also supports the Local Authority Prevention Network (LAPN), with grant aid funding for innovative waste prevention projects, technical support and training and networking opportunities.

Before year end, the EPA will launch a national Circular Economy Programme, which will provide leadership on circular economy aligned to a forthcoming whole-of-government Circular Economy Strategy. “The architecture is evolving,” Finegan says, “to take account of the fact that there are huge opportunities here, but also the fact that we do need to change our consumption patterns.”