What to Recycle | Recycling Materials | Plastic & Paper Recycling

• Paper and cardboard products make up 23.7% of waste in the household bin.
• Manufacturing recycled paper instead of new paper from virgin wood plump uses 54% less energy and 58% less water.
• Each tonne of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy and 7,000 gallons of water.
• Paper products use up to 35% of the world's annual commercial wood harvest.
• One tree can filter up to 60 pounds of pollutants from the air each year.
• For an office with 1,000 employees, each person uses approximately 10,000 sheets of paper per year, enough to stretch nearly 2,000 miles and to create a pile 500 metres high, or five times the height of the Dublin Spire!
• One piece of office grade paper can be recycled seven times.
• Visit our FAQ's page for answers to a specific question.

• Plastic accounts for 12.0% of waste in the household bin.
• Plastic is made from crude oil - a valuable and limited non-renewable resource.
• Recycling plastic saves 2/3 of the energy required to produce plastic from raw materials.
• Every plastic bag we throw away stays buried in the ground for up to 500 years before it finally breaks down.
• 27 recycled soft drink bottles can be recycled into one fleece jacket.
• 150 recycled plastic bottles can be made into one mat.
• It takes 5 PET bottles to make 1 square foot of polyester carpet, an extra large t-shirt or filling for a ski jacket.
• One tonne of plastic is equivalent to 20,000 two litre drink bottles or 120,000 carrier bags. Plastic consumption is growing at about 4% every year in Western Europe.
• Manufacturers who once packaged their goods in glass have changed to plastics packaging for a variety of reasons:
  • Lower Cost
  • Improved storage - clear glass allows goods such as milk to be adversely affected by sun light, loosing vitamin value.
  • Safety - plastic packaging is less hazardous if dropped).
• Visit our FAQ's page for answers to a specific question.

• Glass accounts for 8% of waste in the household bin.
• Glass can be recycled repeatedly as glass does not wear out.
• Recycling 1 glass jar saves enough energy to power a light bulb for nearly 1 hour or run a TV for 15 minutes.
• Glass cullet (crushed and sorted used glass) can be recycled into new glass jars and bottles; as well as concrete, fibreglass, ceramic tiles, picture frames and it can also be used in roadbeds.
• Using recycled glass requires 40% less energy than making glass from new raw materials.
• In Ireland almost 70% of all glass packaging is recycled.
• Most recyclers ask you to sort glass containers by colour; clear, green or brown. Once glass has been coloured the colour cannot be removed.
• Manufacturers package their foods and beverages in green or amber coloured glass to protect sensitive food and beverages from degrading in sun light.
• Unfortunately, you cannot recycle all glass products together. Light bulbs, ceramics, glass mirrors, window glass, and glass pyrex dishes are different types of glass and should not be mixed in with traditional glass packaging in normal glass recycling banks.
• Visit our FAQ's page for answers to a specific question.

• Steel accounts for 1.5% of waste in the household bin.
• Using recycled metal in the manufacturing of new metal, results in a 75% energy saving.
• Steel can be recycled indefinitely without suffering any loss of quality.
• Tin cans can be recycled to make new tin cans, car parts and keys.
• Steel is the most energy efficient metal used in can production, requiring only 50% of the energy needed to make a comparable aluminium can.
• Steel is easy to extract from a domestic waste stream as it is magnetic.
• Every tonne of recycled steel saves 1.5 tonnes of iron ore, half a tonne of coal and requires 40% less water than primary steel production.

• Aluminium accounts for 1.3% of waste in the household bin.
• Aluminium is made from bauxite ore, a non-renewable resource.
• Recycling aluminium saves 95% of the energy required to produce aluminium from raw materials.
• Over 390 million aluminium beverage cans are sold in Ireland each year, all of which are fully recyclable.
• You can differentiate between steel and aluminium cans by using a magnet. Aluminium cans are not magnetic, they will not stick to the magnet. Steel cans will stick to the magnet.
• Both aluminium cans and foil containers can be recycled.
• 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 9 weeks or 6 times a year!
• It takes 670 recycled aluminium cans to make one bicycle.
• Every minute of everyday, an average of 105,800 aluminium cans are recycled.
• Recycling one aluminium can conserves enough energy to run a TV for three hours.
• Every 3 seconds a baby is born. In that time, 140 cans were born.
• Aluminium never wears out, it can be recycled forever.
• Visit our FAQ's page for answers to a specific question.

• Fluorescent tubes

  Energy efficient light bulbs are a type of fluorescent lamp and can be recycled at a number of household recycling centres but older style, incandescent bulbs are NOT recyclable. Please throw them away in your waste bin.

• Paint

  Your local recycling centre may have a donation point for paint - it is reused rather than recycled.

• Print Cartridges

  Increasingly print cartridges are being collected at your local recycling centre but not by kerbside collections. Several other organisations will also recycle print cartridges for you. Alternatively you can refill cartridges at specialist shops, or your office supplier may also offer this service, which is much cheaper than buying new cartridges.

• Spectacles

  Local authorities do not collect spectacles for recycling however many opticians collect them for charities.

• Textiles

  You can recycle all kinds of textiles at bring banks and recycling centres, including curtains, bedding, towels, handbags, cloths, rugs and mats. Please ensure all items are clean before recycling. Alternatively you can bring them to charity shops if they are in good condition.

• Used Gas Cylinders

  These are accepted at most civic amenity centres and recycling centres. Check first with your local facility.

• Waste Oil

  You can recycle engine oil at your local recycling centre. Oil should be stored in a sealed container, and it should not be mixed with any other substance as this makes it difficult to recycle.

• Some local authorities provide special bins for kerbside collection of green waste. Please ensure you follow any special instructions issued.
• Alternatively you can recycle garden waste at your nearest recycling centre. To do so you should use a strong, durable bag (not a black bin liner) to transport your waste, and do not overfill it.
• But why take it out of your garden at all? Compost at home, and you can recycle it yourself.

• The main channels for recycling mobile phones are the shops that sell them.
• Several other organisations and charities accept mobiles for refurbishment and recycling.
• It is best to submit to the charity by using a charity mobile recycling envelope for a single item or collecting a box full of mobile phones and then contacting the charity.

• Recycle any old or broken electrical items at your local recycling centre or by returning them to an electrical shop.
• Under law all shops selling electrical items are required to take back old used electrical items on a one for one or a like for like basis (e.g. old kettles for new kettle).

Household Batteries

• Shops selling batteries are obliged by law to have boxes where you can bring back your used batteries for recycling.
• Reduce battery consumption by:
  • Plugging in electrical equipment into the mains
  • Buying appliances that use renewable energy such as a wind-up radio or a torch
  • Using rechargeable batteries or buying a solar powered recharger!

Car Batteries

• By law, car batteries must not be disposed of with household waste. They are collected at garages, scrap metal facilities and many civic amenity and recycling centres.
• Sometimes the specialist who replaces your car battery will be able to dispose of the old battery safely for you.