European Commission Circular Economy Act

Date: 2023

The Circular Economy Act:

• Defines the Circular Economy for the first time in Irish domestic law
• Incentivises the use of reusable and recyclable alternatives to a range of wasteful single-use disposable packaging and other items
• Re-designates the existing Environment Fund as a Circular Economy Fund, which will remain ring-fenced to provide support for environmental and circular economy projects
• Introduces a mandatory segregation and incentivised charging regime for commercial waste, similar to what exists for the household market. This will increase waste separation and support increased re-cycling rates
• Provides for the GDPR-compliant use of a range of technologies, such as CCTV for waste enforcement purposes. This will support efforts to tackle illegal dumping and littering, while protecting the privacy rights of citizens
• Places the Circular Economy Strategy and National Food Loss Prevention Roadmap on a statutory footing, establishing a legal requirement for governments to develop and periodically update these 2 policies
• Streamlines the national processes for End-of-Waste and By-Products decisions, tackling the delays which can be encountered by industry, and supporting the availability of recycled secondary raw materials in the Irish market, and
• Consolidates the government’s policy of keeping fossil fuels in the ground – by introducing prohibitions on exploration for and extraction of coal, lignite and oil shale

Detecting and preventing unsightly and illegal dumping

A significant action provided for, under the new legislation, will see Local Authorities empowered to use GDPR-compliant technologies such as CCTV to detect and prevent unsightly and illegal dumping and littering, among other measures. This will help to discourage "fly-tipping" which is a blight across the country.

Phasing out Single-Use Packaging

With this Act, over time, a range of single-use disposable products will also be phased out. Among its targets is to make Ireland one of the first countries in the world to eliminate the use of disposable coffee cups, nearly half a million of which are currently sent to landfill or incineration every day, amounting to 200 million cups a year.

This process will begin with a ban over the coming months on the use of disposable coffee cups for sit-in customers in cafés and restaurants, followed by the introduction of a small charge on disposable cups for takeaway coffees that can be avoided completely by using a reusable cup. This will operate in the same way as the existing Plastic Bag Levy, which has been so successful in reducing plastic bag litter across the country. The Act also allows for levies on all single-use packaging to be introduced.

Minister of State with responsibility for Communications and Circular Economy, Ossian Smyth, said:

"This Act is a step change in how Ireland approaches the Circular Economy. It defines what the Circular Economy is in domestic law and obliges the government to prepare and regularly update an ambitious national Circular Economy Strategy, including national and sectoral targets around things like re-use and repair. The Act will allow us to tackle the proliferation of single-use disposable items, which too often end up as landfill or litter, in the same way Ireland has done so successfully before with the Plastic Bag Levy. It will also improve the processes for allowing the use of secondary raw materials in a safe and sustainable manner. This has the potential to keep hundreds of thousands of tonnes of material out of landfill, incineration or other forms of recovery. Finally, the Act gives Local Authorities the power to responsibly use CCTV and other recording technologies to tackle illegal dumping and littering in local communities, but does so in a way that includes very strong privacy safeguards and is fully compliant with data protection law.

"This Act aims to stop the wasteful pattern of using valuable resources once and then just binning them. From discouraging the use of single-use items, to improving the process for allowing recycled materials onto the market, this legislation will support the development of sustainable products and business models across the economy."

He added that Ireland had led the way 20 years ago, with measures that dramatically curbed the use of plastic bags and the associated litter that they caused.