Municipal waste recycled in Ireland
Ireland: Municipal waste recycled was 1.31 million tonnes in 2020. ▲ Rising
Municipal waste recycled in Ireland, 2000–2020
Source: United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 1.31 million tonnes for municipal waste recycled in 2020. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
The figure is up 13.6% on the previous year and up 28.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal waste recycled in Ireland peaked at 1.31 million tonnes in 2020 and was at its lowest, 271,000 tonnes, in 2000.
Ireland ranks 32nd of 90 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Municipal waste recycled in Ireland, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 271,000 tonnes | — |
| 2001 | 306,000 tonnes | +12.9% |
| 2002 | 497,000 tonnes | +62.4% |
| 2003 | 690,000 tonnes | +38.8% |
| 2004 | 885,000 tonnes | +28.3% |
| 2005 | 946,000 tonnes | +6.9% |
| 2006 | 1.12 million tonnes | +18.3% |
| 2007 | 1.16 million tonnes | +3.7% |
| 2008 | 1.08 million tonnes | -6.6% |
| 2009 | 990,000 tonnes | -8.7% |
| 2010 | 1.02 million tonnes | +2.7% |
| 2011 | 1.02 million tonnes | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 985,000 tonnes | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 1.04 million tonnes | +5.9% |
| 2016 | 1.12 million tonnes | +7.9% |
| 2017 | 1.12 million tonnes | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 1.10 million tonnes | -1.9% |
| 2019 | 1.15 million tonnes | +5.1% |
| 2020 | 1.31 million tonnes | +13.6% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 1.31 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 948,000 tonnes, 1.4× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 1.31 million tonnes is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.06 million tonnes, 1.2× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 794,800 tonnes | 271,000 tonnes | 1.16 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.07 million tonnes | 985,000 tonnes | 1.15 million tonnes | 8 |
| 2020s | 1.31 million tonnes | 1.31 million tonnes | 1.31 million tonnes | 1 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More environment data for Ireland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.51 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.17 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.412 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.89 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.13 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.0083 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal waste recycled in Ireland?
- Municipal waste recycled in Ireland was 1.31 million tonnes in 2020, according to United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal waste recycled recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.31 million tonnes in 2020.
- What is the lowest municipal waste recycled recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 271,000 tonnes in 2000.
- How does Ireland rank for municipal waste recycled?
- Ireland ranks 32nd out of 90 countries with data for 2020.
- Is municipal waste recycled rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 28.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal waste recycled. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Municipal waste recycled (Tonnes).