Superwasters - Village Magazine

PB October/November 2023 October/November 2023 75

n 2021, you put more waste into your bins

than the year before, about 15% more, and

more and more of that has been plastic. At

the same time as wehave been cramming

more and more into our bins, our national

recycling rates are stagnating and we have

ambitious targets set for 2025, and 2030.

The government has set out ambitious plans

to turn Ireland to a circular economy through the

Whole of Government Circular Economy Strategy

2022-2023 and the EPAs Waste Action Plan for

a Circular Economy. This ambition is no mean

feat, it is a change in how we interact with and

value materials throughout the whole economy.

Our starting point on this is a circular material

use rate of less than 2%, compared to an EU

average of 11%. The key to increasing that rate

– keeping materials in use. So again in the

context of increased waste in the household, are

we on the right track to achieve these lofty

ambitions?

While we have well-established data on the

amounts, types, and management of the waste

we are producing. There is little examination of

where that waste is coming from. If we are being

asked to manage more and more material, we

ought to be aware of where it is coming from and

ensure that there are plans in place to reduce

that burden.So we engaged a network of citizen

scientists across the country to examine their

bins and see where the material is coming from.

Our volunteers delved into their recycling bins,

and together, we recorded 10,029 waste items

across 49 households in 13 counties. The results

leave no room for doubt - supermarkets are

undeniably the main culprits for our plastic and

packaging predicament. A staggering 66% of

the contents in your average recycling bin can

be traced back to supermarkets, revealing their

pivotal role in this crisis. While it’s no surprise,

given that groceries make up the majority of our

consumption, the sheer volume of waste

demands attention. While individual eorts are

commendable, sustainable shopping has

become a near-impossible task. A resounding

98% of our survey participants expressed

frustration at the onslaught of excessive waste

in their homes. It’s clear as day - the onus should

rest on the source of packaging waste, not the

consumer. As Jennifer from Dublin aptly put it, “I

can’t believe how much plastic I use - and I try

to be good”.

The solution is clear. VOICE has presented key

recommendations in our report to retailers and

the government on waste-reduction and

reusable-packaging targets. Across Europe,

other nations embrace robust waste reduction

and reuse targets. France, for instance, has

witnessed a surge in reﬁll stations — a common-

sense concept. While small, independent

zero-waste stores lead the way here in Ireland,

we need mainstream supermarket chains to

adopt these systems for a national impact. Our

history attests to the eectiveness of legislation;

the plastic bag levy of 2002 set a precedent for

sustainability. But it needs to be led, we’ve seen

individual retailers implement plans and

strategies, but sustainability is still seen as

something of a premium product rather than

ordinary and for now.

Real change hinges on setting these targets:

history has shown that self-regulation by

supermarkets results in piecemeal action on

plastic and packaging issues. Supermarkets

and retailers must acknowledge their pivotal

role in Ireland’s plastic crisis. Sustainable

solutions like reﬁll and reuse systems are the

Superwasters

Legislate for waste

targets, and for reuse

and reﬁll, especially

for supermarkets

By Stephen Byrne

and Tad Kirakowski

path forward, not a continuous stream of

packaging. Let’s rekindle Ireland’s ambition and

regain our reputation as pioneers in the battle

against plastic waste. It’s time to reduce, reuse,

and reimagine our relationship with packaging.

What truly matters are the products - whether

it’s shampoo, groceries, or electronic goods -

not the plastic that envelopes them.

The circular economy is about more than

packaging, it’s about how we design and

manage all sorts of materials from construction

debris to textiles, to food. But packaging is

where most of us will see it in action. The

Taoiseach was in New York recently, rearming

Ireland’s commitment to the UN Sustainable

Development Goals, but unsustainability is all

around us though often easily dealt with. The

impacts of that 12 minutes of use for a piece of

plastic packaging has reverberations around

the world from the neighbourhoods where the

material was created to the environmental and

health impacts of its end life. Not only is

unnecessary packaging annoying and dicult

to manage it is prejudicing our planet in its most

vulnerable hour.

Stephen Byrne is a project manager with, and

Tad Kirakowski is CEO of, VOICE

66% of the contents in

average recycling bin

traceable to supermarkets

MEDIA