The government of Ireland signed the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 on 22 July 2022.

Among other things the act provides for numerous governmental supports for the further development of circular economy initiatives ranging from environmental and materials to equity and access considerations. The Act will help to underpin business and societal initiatives toward circular and regenerative aspects of of Ireland's economy.

What the Act does

• 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"

The act obligates the government to set and revisit targets regularly and importantly to take into account socially and economically disadvantaged communities, and persons with disabilities, in further planning and development under the act.