Despite a massive Government investment in recycling, a new report says Ireland is generating more rubbish than ever and the quantity going to landfill is going up rather than down.
The Environmental Protection Agency has warned that urgent action is now required to reverse the trend this year or EU targets for 2010 will be missed.
Business group IBEC has said Ireland has to deal with a waste mountain and today's report is a reality check for the Government.
The Government will be quick to point out that investment in recycling is paying off: recycled municipal waste is up 18%; household is up 14% and packaging is up 8%.
However, this latest EPA commentary on Ireland's waste says that despite the roll out of bottle banks and bring centres, the amount of waste we are generating is going up.
New figures released tonight from the EPA shows the amount of municipal waste we generate is up by 11%; the biodegradable portion of that is up 18%.
The statistics relates to the year 2006 and indicate that we are sending increasing amounts of our rubbish to the worst possible place – landfill, where municipal waste is up 8%.
The EPA has called for an increase in the landfill levy and a ban on the dumping of untreated waste.
The Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, instituted a waste review late last year - the focus now will be on whether he introduces changes prior to the review being completed.
