Ireland’s Circular Economy Strategy — Why 2.7% Should Get Our Attention

Introduction

When the Government launched its new Circular Economy Strategy for 2026–2028, one figure quietly did most of the talking.

Ireland’s Circularity Metric currently stands at 2.7%. That means more than 97% of the materials moving through our economy are still coming from virgin sources. Extract, use, discard, repeat.

For a country that talks regularly about sustainability and resilience, that’s a sobering starting point.

A Target That Sounds Small — But Isn’t

The strategy sets out a clear ambition: increase circularity by two percentage points per year, reaching 12% by 2030.

At first glance, moving from 2.7% to 12% might not seem dramatic. But in material terms, that shift would represent a significant structural change in how products are designed, how waste is treated, and how businesses operate.

It isn’t about recycling more bottles. It’s about redesigning the system so materials stay useful for longer.

Construction — The Quiet Giant

One of the most revealing numbers sits in the construction sector.

Right now, around 11% of construction and demolition waste is recycled or reused, while approximately 75% is backfilled.

Backfilling may avoid landfill, but it doesn’t bring materials back into productive use. With housing and infrastructure high on the national agenda, construction is where circular thinking can make a serious dent in material demand.

It’s also where the opportunity lies, in reclaiming, reprocessing and reusing materials that are currently treated as low-value by-products.

1.9 Billion Containers — Every Year

Ireland uses around 1.9 billion single-use drinks containers annually.

That figure alone explains the push behind deposit return systems and collection targets. Under EU rules, Member States must achieve 90% separate collection of plastic beverage bottles by 2029.

The scale of the container stream makes it one of the most visible examples of linear consumption in action. Improve that flow, and you shift millions of units back into circulation.

Packaging — Less by Design

The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation requires reductions of:

• 5% by 2030.
• 10% by 2035.
• 15% by 2040,
  compared to 2018 levels.

That means less packaging entering the system in the first place.

For Irish producers and retailers, this is less about bin management and more about redesign. Thinner materials. Refillable systems. Reusable formats. Fewer layers.

Packaging waste is not accidental, it is designed in. The regulation is effectively asking for it to be designed out.

The Repair Question

One of the more practical measures in the strategy is a national Repair Voucher Scheme, to be introduced no later than 2027.

The logic is simple. Too often, repairing something costs almost as much as replacing it. If the numbers don’t stack up, consumers choose new.

A voucher scheme narrows that gap and repair work is local by nature. It supports small businesses, keeps skills alive in towns and prevents useful materials from becoming waste prematurely.

Circularity isn’t always high-tech. Sometimes it’s a screwdriver and a soldering iron.

Digital Product Passports — Transparency Is Coming

Under the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, Digital Product Passports will be introduced for priority product groups, beginning at EU level with areas such as textiles.

These passports will detail what a product is made of, how durable it is, how repairable it is and how it can be recycled.

That may not sound revolutionary, but it changes expectations. Manufacturers will need to think differently about lifespan. Consumers will have more information. Supply chains will become more transparent.

And once transparency enters a market, behaviour usually follows.

Agriculture and the Bioeconomy — Not a Side Note

Agriculture features within the strategy’s priority sectors as part of the wider bioeconomy. That’s not symbolic.

Ireland has committed to reducing food waste by 50% by 2030, in line with international targets. That affects supply chains from farm to fork.

Circularity in agriculture isn’t just about waste reduction. It’s about how organic by-products are managed, how biomass is used, and how value is extracted from materials that previously had little or no economic return.

For rural enterprise, that opens doors rather than closes them.

The Bigger Shift

The most striking thing about this strategy is not the individual targets, it’s the starting point.

2.7% circularity tells us that Ireland remains overwhelmingly dependent on virgin material flows. Reaching 12% by 2030 means rethinking procurement, redesigning products, revaluing waste streams and changing consumer behaviour.

That won’t happen overnight. It won’t happen evenly. And it won’t happen without friction.

But it does signal a shift in how growth is being measured.

Conclusion

The circular economy can sound abstract. It isn’t.

It’s about where materials come from, how long they last, and whether we treat waste as an endpoint or as a resource.

Right now, more than 97% of Ireland’s material use remains linear. That’s the reality. If the strategy succeeds, the percentage will rise year by year, two points at a time, on the way to 12% by 2030.

Not dramatic headlines, not overnight change, just steady structural adjustment.

And sometimes, that’s how the most meaningful economic shifts actually happen.

*By Anne Hayden MSc., Founder, The Informed Farmer Consultancy.