Q&A: What you can – and cannot – leave out for the bin-collectors

Despite all the dire warnings about Ireland’s waste crisis, the good news is that the majority of people have heeded the recycling message over the past decade, or so.

In 2005, waste-collectors picked up nearly 950,000 tonnes of unrecyclable, mixed waste – the so-called “black-bin” waste – from more than 1 million households around the State.

By 2012, the last year official figures are readily available, the tonnage collected had fallen to just over 750,000, while the amount of recyclable material collected had jumped by almost half to nearly 300,000 tonnes.

Nevertheless, household collection tells but one part of the story. In all, people in the State produced 2.8 million tonnes in 2011 – one of the worst figures in Europe and enough to fill Croke Park to the top of the Hogan Stand.

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Rubbish collectors are obliged under the Waste Management Regulations 2015 to accept a long list of items for recycling in the green bins, but the exclusions can sometimes surprise.

It is notable that the regulations do not define glass – either bottles or sheet glass – as a recyclable. It should not therefore be put in the green bin. Many operators including The City Bin Co, for example, exclude glass from all its bins.

However, the collection of organic waste from households has jumped by 218 per cent since 2004, while the amount of waste collected that subsequently avoids ending up in landfill has jumped by 350 per cent since 2002.

What can I put in my green bin?

Yes: Paper: Newspapers and magazines, cardboard (clean and dry), phonebooks and catalogues, cereal boxes; steel food cans, aluminium drink cans, plastic bottles, plastic containers, Tetra paks (juice and milk cartons), acceptable plastic types in green bin: all plastic bottles including mineral milk and detergent bottles

No: Glass, general refuse, food waste, green or garden waste, wet waste, nappies, polystyrene, wallpaper, aeroboard/styrofoam, plastic film/bags, plastic food wrappings

What can I put in my black bin?

Yes: General refuse, plastic bags, nappies, plastic food wrappings, aluminium foil, animal waste, ashes, netting from oranges/onions, contents of hoover

No: Paper: Newspapers and magazines, food and drink cans, plastic bottles, glass bottles, garden waste

What can I put in my brown bin?

Yes: Kitchen food scraps, fruits and vegetables, bread, cakes and biscuits, eggs and dairy, out of date food (no plastic packaging), plant trimmings, cooked and raw foods, tea leaves and tea bags, meat, fish, poultry and bones, grass clippings & leaves, cut flowers & old plants

No: Ashes, nappies, plastic bags, medical waste

Above applies to Panda bins, there is variation between companies.

Source: Panda.ie

Eight top tips to reduce your waste charges

Careful segregation of waste could see householders legitimately reduce their waste-collection costs under the new pay-by-weight system:

1. Bring your glass bottles and jars to your local bring bank. Check your local county council website for locations or use the search facility on Repak's website repak.ie.

2. Bring electrical or electronic waste to your local electrical store or your local civic amenity site, where it will be taken free of charge. Check out Weee Ireland's website weeeireland.ie.

3. Minimise food waste by buying the right quantities. Beware of "two for one" offers if you think you won't eat it all before it degrades. Make smoothies or juice drinks from over-ripe fruit before it goes off. See stopfoodwaste.ie for advice.

4. Keep your garden waste in your garden. Grass clippings and leaves can be piled in a corner or under a hedge where they will degrade naturally. Home composting manages garden waste and peelings from fruit and vegetables (do not put meat or fish in composting bins). See stopfoodwaste.ie.

5. Keep the ashes from your fire in your garden. This is very important as hot ashes can cause fires at waste-transfer stations.

6. Try to buy products with less packaging, when possible.

7. Bring your old clothes to textile banks where they will be collected for recycling.

8. Consider getting value out of old household goods or clothes by selling them online for re-use (donedeal.ie, ebay.ie, adverts.ie, etc) or by offering them free on freetrade.ie if they have low value.

Source: Irish Waste Management Association