The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has issued a report which shows that Ireland's amount of waste sent to landfill and incineration is likely to increase rather than decrease, which means that the country is unlikely to meet its EU targets for waste and carbon emissions. Ireland currently sends 80% of its waste to landfill, which is considerably higher than their European counterparts. Germany's rate stands at 50% and the Netherlands at 40%. So, although environmental legislation is becoming ever more stringent, Ireland's population is becoming richer and the amount of waste produced is expected to rise. The result of this is that the country could well be 30% over the EU target for carbon emissions by 2020.
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