Reduce your waste bill by recycling this Xmas
2017-12-15 16:40:00 -
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With households generating up to 20 percent more waste over the Christmas period, the Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA) reminds that waste bills can be reduced by proper recycling.

 

“Irish householders want to do the right thing,” said the IWMA’s Conor Walsh. “We know this from the many questions we get from our customers wanting to know what they should and should not put in their household bins. 

 

“We’ve put the answers to these questions on our website (www.iwma.ie) so if anyone is unsure they can quickly find out the information they need to recycle correctly.”

 

The list of dry items that can be put in your recycling bin includes:

Metals: pet food cans, food cans, drink cans and soup cans.

 

Rigid plastics: drink bottles, cleaning bottles, milk cartons, butter, yoghurt and salad tubs; fruit and veg trays; soap and shampoo bottles.

 

Paper/cardboard items: Tetra Pak cartons, cardboard, wrapping paper, Christmas cards, letters, newspapers, egg boxes, toilet and kitchen roll tubes.

 

The IWMA also suggests some helpful hints for recycling in your home this Christmas.

 

With Santa delivering lots of presents, there will be a lot of cardboard and packaging to be recycled. By flattening the empty boxes, it will ensure more space in the bin for other items.

 

Polystyrene used in packaging delicate items cannot be recycled at present, so this should be disposed of in the black or residual bin.

 

Wrapping paper, Christmas cards and envelopes can be recycled – and don’t worry about trying to take the sellotape off the wrapping paper before putting it in the recycling bin.

 

Glass can break and cause injury to people working in recycling facilities and should not be put in any bin. There are plenty of bottle banks and civic amenity sites where empty bottles and jars can be safely deposited, and some recycling services have dedicated glass collections.

 

Be sure to rinse out any food tins before placing in the recycling bin. Food remnants can cause unnecessary smells and contaminate the contents of the bin.

 

In the New Year, all IWMA member customers will be given a free bin hanger to remind them of the correct materials that can be thrown in their recycling bin.

 

“Unlike other countries, in Ireland we allow householders to mix their recyclables in one bin,” says Walsh. “This cuts down on the number of bins needed by homeowners but it does lead to greater contamination of materials. Unfortunately, this impacts on the environment as contaminated materials cannot be recycled. 


“By putting the right materials into their recycling bin, consumers can better protect the environment and reduce their household bills.”

 

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