IRISH households and companies are generating 38 per cent more waste than they were a decade ago, representing a compound increase of 3.5 per cent a year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA, which published its first National Waste Database yesterday, said more than 92 per cent of all waste collected by the local authorities in 1995 was dumped in landfill sites and less than 8 per cent was recycled.
Altogether, "national waste arisings" in 1995 amounted to more than 42 million tonnes of which agricultural sources (mainly animal slurries) produced almost 31 million tonnes. Household and industrial sectors accounted for the rest.
The overall quantity of municipal wastes in 1995 was estimated at 1,385,439 tonnes, compared to 854,866 tonnes in 1985. For industrial wastes, the increase is even more marked, from 4,720,000 tonnes in 1985 to 7,654,736 tonnes last year.
Broken down on a per capita basis, every person in the Republic is now generating 0.38 tonnes of household waste each year, while the commercial waste tonnage works out at 0.9 tonnes per employee, according to Mr Gerry Carty, EPA programme manager.
Significant differences were observed in the composition off household waste as between urban and rural areas. In the cities and towns, there was a higher proportion of paper and organic materials, suggesting that rural dwellers rely more on composting.
The annual volume of industrial hazardous waste is also much higher than had been thought, at 240,000 tonnes. However, this is largely due to a broader, EU inspired definition of what constitutes "hazardous waste".
"There is clearly a need for a more rigorous and sustainable approach to waste management" said Ms Anne Butler, one of the EPA's directors.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Howlin, said he intended to use his extensive powers under the Act to minimise waste generation, maximise waste recovery and ensure environmentally safe disposal of unrecoverable wastes".
However, Mr Howlin has yet to make orders bringing into effect the waste prevention and recycling provisions of the Act. Instead, he is relying on a voluntary scheme by IBEC - yet to get off the ground - to meet EU imposed waste recovery targets.
He noted that there had already been a "significant increase in the recycling of household waste, from 1.4 per cent in 1993 to 4.3 per cent last year. For packaging materials in the household and commercial waste stream, it rose from 15.6 to nearly 22 per cent.
In addition, there was now a growing number of waste recovery facilities in both urban and rural areas, including 428 "bring" banks, 28 recycling sites at municipal dumps and one house to house collection service Kerbside which serves parts of Dublin.
Mr Howlin also noted that the recovery rate for industrial hazardous waste was 42.5 per cent in 1995. The rest of it was treated biologically (26 per cent), incinerated (18.7), exported overseas (7.7), treated physico chemically (3) or landfilled (2).
He said the National Waste Database, which would enable a range of key indicators to be monitored, was "highly relevant" to the implementation of the Waste Management Act and would guide policy.
Greenpeace described the database as a major step forward, but said the Minister "must set clear targets to reduce overall waste generation" by banning PVC packaging and introducing deposit and refund schemes for glass bottles as well as separation of waste at source.
SIPTU has said that a restructuring plan proposed by Tara Mines to make the company more competitive would have to be significantly improved before it would be acceptable to the workforce, reports Padraig Yeates, Industry and Employment Correspondent. "Tara 2005" is looking for up to 150 redundancies from the 720 strong workforce and reductions in overtime payments and the bonus system in order to avoid rises in production costs.
The company says costs could rise by 12 per cent and the mine is already dearer to operate than 90 per cent of its competitors.
Responding to the proposals yesterday, SIPTU official Mr John Kane said Tara Mines had at least 14 years of productive life left and, when the present litigation with Bula Mines was resolved, that could extend the life of the mine even further. "Tara 2005" could not be regarded as anything more than a basis for negotiations, he added.
