Irish people on average produce 50 per cent more waste than central Europeans and 100 per cent more than eastern Europeans, a new EU survey has found.
The Eurostat review of environmental issues poured scorn on Ireland's "green image", saying it had the highest per capita rate of waste generation in the 25-member state EU in 2003.
Moreover, waste generation per capita was found to have risen by 42 per cent in Ireland between 1995 and 2003 - a period during which it fell in many other EU states.
The report also pointed to an alarming over-dependency on roads for the movement of freight in Ireland, and suggested traffic congestion was set to worsen as car-ownership rates increase to the European average.
An Taisce said the figures indicated "a growing toleration of sprawl" in planning and an increasing neglect of public transport.
The group's heritage officer Ian Lumley said: "What we are constantly seeing all over the country is sprawl development that is inherently car-dependent.
"One of the major such types of development at the moment is nursing homes. They are being plonked on green field sites in rural areas. They are very poorly accessible. The only way of getting in and out is by car."
Ireland's car-dependency was further highlighted by figures indicating a higher-than-average rate of consumption of crude oil and petroleum products.
Some 57 per cent of gross inland energy consumption was accounted for by oil in 2003 - the sixth highest in the EU. Some 39 per cent of final energy consumption in 2003 was in the area of transport - 9 per cent above the EU average.
Total inland freight transport was found to have more than doubled in Ireland between 1995 and 2003. The proportion travelling on the roads in the same period increased from 90.1 per cent to 97.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, the proportion on railways dropped from 9.9 per cent to 2.5 per cent, in what Mr Lumley described as a particularly worrying trend.
"Getting more freight on to rail lines has a double-effect. It not only takes that freight off the road, but it means you can spread your costs in relation to carrying passengers.
"Part of the blame goes to Iarnród Éireann which should be aggressively seeking to attract freight, and fighting its corner with the Government in that regard, rather than winding down its freight trade."
The municipal waste figures show an increasing proportion of Irish waste going overseas, with landfills close to capacity. The proportion of waste landfilled between 1995 and 2003 fell from 77.4 per cent to 69 per cent. In 2003, Ireland was one of just six member states which incinerated no waste.
A separate Eurostat report showed Ireland had the fourth highest annual average income per capita in the EU in 2002 at €30,800. Only the UK (€36,200), Luxembourg (€35,000) and Germany (€34,600) finished higher in the rankings.
Ireland paid the highest wages to construction workers at €35,950 per capita on average. This compared to €6,230 in Poland and €2,640 in Latvia.
