A Critical Analysis of Ireland’s Circular Material Use Rate (CAIR)

Ireland has registered a relatively poor score in terms of the Circular Material Use Rate (CMUR) – a key circular economy metric of the European Union. Ireland’s policy ambitions are to surpass the EU average in this metric by 2030. The aims of the CAIR (a Critical Analysis of Ireland’s circular material use Rate) project were to firstly identify factors driving Ireland’s relatively low CMUR performance and secondly to identify actions through which Ireland’s CMUR score could be improved. The research activities included an interrogation of how the CMUR metrics function, analysis of the data used, a comparison of the data and statistical profile of Ireland with three other Member States, and the development of proposals for improving Irelands CMUR score.