Proportion of municipal waste recycled in Ireland
Ireland: Proportion of municipal waste recycled was 29.9% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Proportion of municipal waste recycled in Ireland, 2000–2020
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
The most recent figure for proportion of municipal waste recycled in Ireland is 29.9%, measured in 2020.
That represents a change of up 5.9% on the previous year and down 13.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of municipal waste recycled in Ireland peaked at 36.1% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 11.5%, in 2000.
Ireland ranks 23rd of 73 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Proportion of municipal waste recycled in Ireland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 11.5% | — |
| 2001 | 12.9% | +12.3% |
| 2002 | 20.2% | +56.7% |
| 2003 | 26.6% | +31.9% |
| 2004 | 32.7% | +23.0% |
| 2005 | 34.0% | +4.0% |
| 2006 | 36.1% | +6.0% |
| 2007 | 34.0% | -5.7% |
| 2008 | 31.5% | -7.6% |
| 2009 | 31.9% | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 34.7% | +8.7% |
| 2011 | 33.7% | -3.0% |
| 2012 | 34.0% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 34.0% | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 34.9% | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 33.5% | -4.0% |
| 2016 | 34.4% | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 32.0% | -7.0% |
| 2018 | 29.7% | -7.2% |
| 2019 | 28.2% | -5.0% |
| 2020 | 29.9% | +5.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 27.1% | 11.5% | 36.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.9% | 28.2% | 34.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.9% | 29.9% | 29.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 20 Norway 30.8% compare
- 21 Luxembourg 30.8% compare
- 22 Czechia 30.1% compare
- 24 Portugal 28.6% compare
- 25 Switzerland 28.5% compare
- 26 Netherlands (Kingdom of the) 28.1% compare
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)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, annual growth rate 13.58 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 t per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per capita 0.0688 t per person (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, annual growth rate -4.57 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of municipal waste recycled in Ireland?
- Proportion of municipal waste recycled in Ireland was 29.9% in 2020, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest proportion of municipal waste recycled recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 36.1% in 2006.
- What is the lowest proportion of municipal waste recycled recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.5% in 2000.
- How does Ireland rank for proportion of municipal waste recycled?
- Ireland ranks 23rd out of 73 countries with data for 2020.
- Is proportion of municipal waste recycled rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.9%. 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, SDG Global Database, published as part of Proportion of municipal waste recycled (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).