The basic rule for recycling is that all items need to be CLEAN, DRY and LOOSE before you put them in the recycling bin.

Are you unsure about what to do with certain items?

Make sure you know your recycling symbols. Repak has a guide to everyday recycling symbols on their website to help you identy and understand them. You can take a look HERE. 

You can find additional information about recycling on the My Waste website:  What to do with my recycling.

If you still can’t find the information you are looking for, click HERE and start typing the item you are trying to dispose of. 

Plastic BagsSoft plastics can now be placed in your recycling bin. Ensure the item is clean, dry and loose (not filled with other items).

ClothingClothing items do not go into the recycling bin, but unwanted, preloved clothing can be donated to your local charity shop or charity textiles bin.

Coffee cupWhile the lid and sleeve can usually be placed in the recycling bin, coffee cups are almost always non-recyclable.

Disposable BBQsDisposable BBQs cannot be recycled. Wait until ash is fully cool and then place in general waste bin.

Pizza Box

Scrape any food waste off the box into the brown bin and place the cardboard box into recycling. 

Wetsuit

Neoprene unfortunately cannot be recycled. If you have a wetsuit that is still useable rather than dumping it donate it to a charity shop or local surf school!

Beach Toys

Clean and dry plastic toys at the end of their life can be recycled or otherwise placed in general waste.

Takeaway boxes

Only certain types of takeaway boxes can be recycled, if they are clean, dry and loose.

Crisps Packets

Soft plastic items, like crisp packets, sweet wrappers, bags containing mixed salad etc...can finally be recycled in Ireland.

BatteriesMost municipal recycling centres will have a battery recycling facility and many electronics shops will also have a battery recycling bin.

Aluminium foil & traysAluminium items can be recycled if they are clean and dry – scrunch your foil and trays up into a ball, the bigger the ball the easier it is to be recycled.

Glass  Bottle  and  JarsGlass bottles and jars generally fall into three categories – clear glass, green glass and brown glass, each of which is recyclable.

Pyrex  DishesPyrex dishes cannot be recycled and they need to be places in the general waste bin.

Polystyrene

Expanded polystyrene is a material that can be recycled when separately collected, some civic amenity centres may accept it, but be sure to check locally before you arrive.

Toothpaste  Tube

Toothpaste tubes are made of are a mix of materials and should be placed in the general waste bin. 

Toothbrush

Manual toothbrushes are made from different types of plastic and should be places in the general waste bins. Electric toothbrushes should be brought to a WEE dropoff recycling point or civic amenities

Blister  Tablets Packets

These are not recyclable and should be placed in the general waste bin.

Pens  and  Markers

Pens and markers cannot be recycled. They should be placed in the general waste bin, as it’s too difficult to remove all the contents. 

Plasters

Plasters are not recyclable and should be placed in the general waste bin.

Paint

Paint can’t be disposed of in general waste and should never be poured down drains. 

FOGs (Fats, Oils and Greases)

If you have a Food Waste Recycling service small amounts of fats, oils and grease can be disposed of in the food waste recycling bin.

What happens to our waste? 

Brown Bin – The contents of the brown bins are sent for anaerobic digestion or industrial composting. There are seven private industrial composting facilities in Ireland licensed by local authorities or the EPA and the Department of Agriculture. The compost made at these sites is sold principally as peat replacement for landscaping, agriculture, and horticulture. 

Green Bin – The contents of the recycling bin are processed in recycling plants otherwise known as material recovery facilities. Here the contents are unloaded from trucks on a conveyor belt system which uses different tools to separate metals from plastics and paper. These items are then sent to specific material recycling plants in Ireland or abroad. Materials which don’t fit into these categories are made solid recovered fuel to be used in cement kilns instead of coal. 

Black Bin – The contents of the black bins are separated as far as possible using magnets and a similar system to the recycling bin. As much as possible of what can be composted, recycled or used for solid recovered fuel is separated out and the rest is mostly incinerated either in one of Ireland’s two incinerators or at one in Europe. Ireland also has 3 active land fill sites which is 15 less than in 2012 

The EPA Municipal waste statistics for Ireland 2019 report states that: 

• Municipal waste is made up of household waste and commercial waste that is similar to household waste. 
• In 2019, Ireland generated 3.1 million tonnes of municipal waste. 37% was recycled, 46% went for incineration with energy recovery and 15% was landfilled. 
• Of the municipal waste that was recycled, 857,793 tonnes went for material recycling (up 1% on 2018) and 294,761 tonnes was composted/anaerobically digested (up 20% on 2018). 
• 40% of all municipal waste (1.2 million tonnes) was exported for final treatment, up from 35% in 2018. Of the waste exported, most went for recycling (56%) or energy recovery (36%) while 7% went for composting. 

 The EPA Packaging waste statistics for Ireland 2019 report states that: 

• Ireland generated 1,124,917 tonnes of packaging waste in 2019. 182,321 tonnes (16%) was recycled in Ireland, mainly glass and wood. Almost all plastic and paper/cardboard, and most metal packaging waste, was sent abroad for recycling. 
• 62% of waste packaging was recycled, exceeding the current EU target (55%). However, this is down from 64% in 2018, and continues a decline in recycling rates seen in recent years. The future recycling targets(65% for 2025 and 70% for 2030) will be more challenging. 
• Of the 319,082 tonnes of plastic packaging waste generated, only 28% was recycled. 69% was incinerated for energy recovery in 2019, contributing an estimated 350,110 tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere in 2019. 
• Recycling rates for other packaging types: glass (84%), paper & cardboard (79%), wood (79%) and metal (69%). 

The Big Beach Clean is an annual call to action as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), operated internationally by Ocean Conservancy.  This call to action invites communities and volunteers around the country to remove litter from around the Irish coast after the end of the bathing season.

This initiative is also an opportunity for volunteers to get involved in a worldwide citizen science project, which entails collecting the amount and types of litter on Irish beaches and filling in Clean Coasts’ Marine Litter Data Cards. This will help heighten awareness about the issue of marine litter serving as an indicator of the magnitude of the problem and help shape future policies and campaigns.  

In 2019, Cully and Sully Joined the Big Beach Clean for the first time. This year, we are happy to announce that they will support our initiative once more

This year, Cully and Sully will support us in providing our volunteers with the Big Beach Clean kits.

Cullen Allen (Cully) said “We are delighted to be supporting Big Beach Clean 2022. We love our beaches and waterways and use them all year round for various activities from windsurfing to sea swimming and we know how important it is for everyone to continue to protect them. We are hopeful for a bumper sign up this year and looking forward to the events in September” 

How to recycle the Cully and Sully soup pot

Cully and Sully are Origin Green certified, as a business paying close attention to sustainability and sourcing within their business. Moreover, Cully and Sully are the first Irish food brand to become BCorp certified.

“We are committed to our people, our suppliers, our customers and our environment. Through our social and environmental commitments, re-use and recycling of our packaging is one of our key priorities as well as food education.”

This is why they have been working to cut out non-recyclable materials in their packaging and reduce the amount of plastic in their packaging. Their soup tubs are 100% recyclable, so check out the video below to find out how, and find some extra tips here.