Recycling involves the recovery of material from the main waste stream by preventing them being disposed of and makes them into new goods.  This can involve materials being recycled into a new version of the same thing e.g. glass bottles to new glass bottles or recycling it into a new thing e.g. tetrapak cartons into recyclable bags. 

Compared to our European counterparts, Ireland's record for recycling is poor.  In 2001, only 13.3% of municipal waste was recycled (EPA National Waste Database, 2003).  However the situation has been improving, with approximately 1,436 bring banks in Ireland in 2001 compared to 837 in 1998. This number is increasing all the time with one bring bank now provided per 2,300 people (Waste Management - Taking Stock and Moving Forward 2004). 

Recycling Tips for your Home

• When buying products with packaging, choose packaging that is easily recyclable e.g. glass rather than plastic bottles.
• Make sure you maximise use your green bin fully and correctly.
• If you do not have a green bin, make optimum use of your nearest recycling centre – try incorporating visits into other activities such as shopping, school run etc.
• Get a compost bin - this can reduce the waste disposed of in your black/grey bin by almost one third.
• Where possible, buy products made from recycled material.

Recycling Tips for your Office at home

• Photocopy and print on both sides of the page.
• Proof-read documents and read emails on screen rather than printing them out.
• Store data on computer networks or on disk instead of paper files.
• Don’t dump used printer, fax and photocopier cartridges - most suppliers and many charities collect returns.
• Buy recycled paper and stationery.
• Order supplies in bulk or in concentrated form.
• Re-use envelopes and jiffy bags.

Types of Plastics (pdf - 45.6 Kb)

Preparing your Waste for Recycling

What goes Where