Ireland produced enough waste over the Christmas period to fill up to the first tier of Croke Park, the CEO of Repak has said.
Seamus Clancy said that while it is a happy time of year for most people, it is also the busiest time of year for the recycling industry.
Ireland was expected to generate almost 100,000 tonnes of packaging waste this Christmas - a 4% increase on last year, according to research from Repak.
Of the 2,653 shoppers surveyed, 72% said they were planning to be more conscious of their waste generation this Christmas.
The survey also showed that almost all (93%) of shoppers in Ireland receive Christmas gifts each year that they do not use.
83% planned to reduce their consumption this Christmas by buying locally, reducing the volume of gifts they buy and buying sustainable gifts.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Clancy said Ireland recycles all glass here in the country, but there is more work to do to meet the State's targets on recycling plastic and paper.
"We don't have the economies of scale in Ireland to build adequate facilities, but we are working very hard on that at the moment," he said.
Mr Clancy said Irish attitudes to waste are improving and people are buying less than they used to.
"We have to reduce the volume of materials we're buying, but also what we're eating," he said.
"Food waste also generates packaging and has to come down."
