The majority of Irish people now recycle, with every bag we sort helping to reduce the global pollution problem caused by waste.
However, despite keeping separate bins and doing your best, you could be unknowingly contaminating up to 36 percent of the contents of your recycling bin by making one of these very common mistakes.
Here, in honour of Repak Recycling Week, are six ways to make sure your recycling efforts don’t go to waste:
Rinse your plastic: Plastic accounts for 12 percent of waste in the household bin. It’s made from crude oil – a valuable and limited non-renewable resource – so recycling as much of it as possible is vital. Unfortunately, food containers and half full bottles or cartons of liquid can contaminate much of the bag, rendering the contents useless.
Buy baskets or bags for life: Every plastic bag we throw away stays buried in the ground for up to 500 years before it finally breaks down. Large crates are ideal for the weekly grocery shop, allowing you to avoid plastic bags altogether but bags for life are a good alternative. Keep them in the car so you’re never caught off guard.
Recycle in the bathroom: According to research, the vast majority of recycling is done from the kitchen (95 percent), followed at a distance by the bathroom from which 54 percent of household recycling is done. Pop a separate bin upstairs for toilet roll cardboard, product boxes and packaging.
Learn the rules: Dirty nappies (yes, really), cigarette butts, razors, food and garden waste, batteries and soiled clothing are among the most common items that wrongly end up in the recycling bin, completely ruining quality materials. Ashes, electrical wires, shoes, sheets and cushions are commonly found among recyclables too. Check this list if you’re confused about what can and can’t be recycled.
Don’t forget the cans: Used aluminium cans are recycled and returned to a store shelf as a new can in as little as 60 days. That means a consumer could purchase the same recycled aluminium can every nine weeks or six times a year! Over 390 million aluminium beverage cans are sold in Ireland annually so ensure yours are rinsed before popping them in the recycling bin.
Mark the calendar: Keeping a close eye on your recycling day will ensure you aren’t tempted to dump your recyclables with your normal refuse when you run out of space.
Visit repak.ie to find out exactly which items you can put in your recycling bin. #cutoutcontamination
