The measures outlined in Ireland's new waste policy, A Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy, will help to reduce the volume of construction and demolition waste produced in the first place through a greater focus on designing out waste at the initial planning stages. Other measures will ensure that construction and demolition wastes arising are managed in a more sustainable way through a greater emphasis on waste segregation and diverting appropriate wastes to beneficial uses elsewhere in the economy. In terms of specific targets, these measures will help to ensure that we will meet the target of preparing for reuse, recycling and other material recovery (including beneficial backfilling operations using waste as a substitute) of 70% by weight of C&D non-hazardous waste (excluding natural soils & stone) by 31 December 2020 as set out in the 2008 Waste Framework Directive. In respect of 2018, the most recent year for which data is currently available, the EPA has stated that our recovery rate for this material was 77%.
