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Saturday, 21 January 2006 |
What's the problem?
Well the good news is a greater number of people in Ireland are more aware of what happens to their waste. Recycling rates of household waste in Ireland have increased from 13.3% in 2001 to 19.5% in 2004.
However there is still a long way to go, the generation of household waste in Ireland has increased by over 260,000 tonnes since 2001 and we are running out of space in our landfills not to mention burying a vast amount of useful resources. In particular the amount of biodegradable waste (organic material suitable for composting) has increased on 2001 figures by 4.3%. This suggests that although most households are recycling certain fractions - paper, cans and glass the concept of waste as a resource to be reduced and reused is yet to take hold. The message is that recycling is a big step but also think about reducing and reusing in your home.
Did you know?
- 80% of the contents of an average Irish bin can be recycled
- If all the household waste generated in Ireland in 2003 was put into 140 litre wheelie bins and laid end to end it would fill almost 82 million wheelie bins and stretch almost 88,000km. That's enough to go around the equator of the Earth 2.2 times.
- In 2003 we landfilled 1,832,624 tonnes of municipal waste, which would fill Croke Park 4.6 times
- In 2001 over 640,000 tonnes of paper was landfilled in Ireland, which equals the weight of 100,000 male adult African elephants
- In 2001, over 100,000 tonnes of glass was landfilled in Ireland. This glass will remain buried in Ireland's soil and never decompose
- Only 28% of the 200 million drink cans sold in Ireland each year are recycled
What can you do?
Reduce
- Always think twice before you throw something out - can you use it again? Glass jars washed out can be used for storage.
- Buy goods with the least packaging
- Buy loose fruit and vegetables instead of pre packed
- Buy certain products in bulk and reduce amount of packaging i.e. washing powder
- Remember your reusable shopping bags
- Use refillable or rechargable products when possible
- Buy products made from recycled material
- Use and refill your own durable drinks bottle
- Get a compost bin
Reuse
- Give unwanted clothes, furniture and books to charity stores - make sure they are in good condition
- If you can, refurbish furniture instead of buying new products
- Get shoes reheeled before buing a new pair
- Buy products you can refill i.e salt and pepper, washing up liquid
- Look for long lasting, energy efficient items when buying new appliances
- Reuse scrap paper for writing notes
- Use washable dish cloths instead of disposable wipes
- Pack your lunch in a reusable lunch box instead of kitchen foil or cling film
- Reuse jars and make your own sauce. Try it once and see how easy it is.
- Reuse envelopes by sticking a label over the old address
- Pass on old magazines to someone who would use them i.e. local doctor or dentists surgery
Recycle
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Recycling creates lower energy costs, reduces emissions to the atmosphere and water, creates more employment and reduces the amount of waste going to landfill
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It reduces the demand for limited natural resources and extends their life cycle. Recycling plastic enables conservation of fossil fuel. For every tonne of recycled glass used 1.2 tonnes of raw materials are preserved
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You can recycle paper, newpaper, magazines, cardboard, alluminium cans, steel cans, plastic bottles, Tetra Pak, glass bottles & jars, soft plastic packaging, textiles, hazardous waste, timber, batteries and IT equipment at a number of bring centres and civic centres around the country.
The above information comes from the Race Against Waste website, it also has information on local recycling centres around the country, check it out at http://www.raceagainstwaste.com/
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 25 April 2006 )
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