Ireland’s journey toward a circular economy has gathered momentum in recent years, transforming how we produce and consume goods.
What began in the 1990s as a pressing need to reduce landfill use has evolved into a sophisticated, data-driven effort to track progress and measure contributions to national and EU-level sustainability goals while also delivering economic growth. Whether it’s government policy or specific initiatives, the ability to monitor and evaluate performance is now central to sustainable growth.
As a data geek, I obviously appreciate this development, but it also demonstrates a welcome shift in how we approach targets. The traditional stick of fines and enforcement is a necessary evil, but psychologists have repeatedly shown that the carrot approach is more effective in changing behaviour over the long term.
This is because when messaging is focused on positive gains rather avoiding losses, people tend to be more motivated. Research on self‑determination theory shows rewards that are perceived as informative lead to better outcomes than rewards perceived as controlling or threatening.
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In other words, when milestones and feedback are designed to affirm our competence to make informed decisions, and our autonomy to carry out those decisions, we are more likely to hit targets.
The stakes in sustainability are somewhat higher than in training to crack your personal best in a 10km race. A robust framework of accountability is essential to sustain commitment among those less naturally motivated. Early milestones, such as the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Waste Management Act and the introduction of the landfill levy, built that foundation. And with that in place, the focus has gradually shifted from setting broad targets to tracking specific, measurable outcomes.
Under the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy, Ireland has committed to achieving a recycling rate of 65 per cent by 2035, aligning with EU directives that require transparent monitoring and public reporting. This movement towards quantifiable metrics reflects that progress in sustainability, as in any other process, has to be demonstrated. Every tonne of waste diverted from landfill must contribute to the evidence base for how Ireland meets its goals.
Some of the most interesting developments in this space have emerged from our indigenous small businesses, with companies using innovative approaches to help households and businesses understand their own contribution to wider sustainability goals.
Shareclub, for instance, helps workplaces and events replace single-use cups and bowls with reusable alternatives. While washing crockery isn’t revolutionary, measurement and feedback on how that activity contributes to sustainability is. Using either an app or RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags, users can access a live impact dashboard showing how much waste and CO₂ equivalent they have avoided, while post-event reports quantify environmental savings and provide verified data for Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and ESG (environmental, social and Governance) reporting.
Similar advances have been made in product-specific schemes that manage complex waste streams. The Circol ELT programme for end-of-life tyres monitors tyres from the moment they enter the Irish market to their final stage of reuse or recycling.
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Monthly reporting by members allows the organisation to measure recovery rates, ensure environmental compliance and plan future capacity. Many tyres are repurposed as crumb rubber for road surfaces, playgrounds or pitches. If a soccer-playing child has left a trail of black crumbs from a 3G surface across your house, there’s a good chance they were originally tyres.
As annoying as those crumbs can be to clean up, they’re a reminder that tracking progress isn’t just about reduction but also value creation. Every recycled tyre represents material, along with its embodied carbon and economic value, retained within the Irish economy, all of which can be measured.
Last month Greyhound Recycling launched an initiative that allows customers to track their individual recycling performance and understand how their actions contribute to national EU-mandated targets. Cameras on Greyhound’s bin lorries capture images of bin contents during collection. When contamination is detected, customers receive a photo, a brief explanation and advice on how to improve their sorting habits.
The innovation is in the approach and messaging; the aim is education rather than enforcement. In 2006 three local councils in England announced that they were trialling microchipped bins to monitor household rubbish and potentially charge by weight, prompting a campaign against government intrusion by privacy advocates. Yet two decades later, a similar idea has been approached differently. By providing real-time feedback, households can correct behaviour quickly, while the aggregated data offers deep insight into wider recycling patterns.
This principle aligns with findings from sports psychology and behavioural science, which consistently show that positive reinforcement drives more sustainable change than punishment. In sustainability, as in sport, people perform better when they can track measurable progress and understand how their effort contributes to the bigger picture.
Stuart Mathieson is research manager with InterTradeIreland
