Hello to the wonderful friends of Narcissips!
I hope you’re fantastic and had a great summer! If you're like me, the coming months are a divil.
While they can bring great memories in the form of cosy fires and a few pints of Plain with mates - the darker evenings & lack of sunshine kills me. I think its called Seasonal Affective Disorder Syndrome but how and ever...
You're not reading this for a psychological analysis of my own flaws and issues but for tips and tricks on how to be more sustainable or how to save a few shillings wherever possible in a greener way!
In 3 minutes 30 seconds, you will know what took me three days to read, review, summarise and benchmark in terms of improving our recycling rates at home, helping us save money & ensure we can assist Ireland in moving towards a circular economy.
First things first, knowing what goes into the recycling, compost &
First things first, knowing what goes into the recycling, compost & domestic bins is tricky business.
Often things that are recyclable, should not be - due to contamination etc. so we do need to be somewhat cautious. None the less, it's two minutes out of our day so, why not?
I have summarised several articles alluding to what is currently found in our bins across Ireland both correctly & incorrectly. This will then show the simple changes we should make and their benefits;
To begin on a positive note anyway, 64% of Irish people are saying that they are more eco conscious now in comparison to pre-pandemic days in terms of their recycling habits with 89% confident that their recycling habits are good according to Repaks public survey
So here we go.....
According to the EPA, the average bins in Ireland are composed of the following;
A) General Waste/Domestic Bin
- 19% plastics
- 16% organic Waste
- 15% paper, card & beverage containers - 11% fines
- 10% textiles
- 10% nappies
- 9% metals, glass & wood
B) Recycling Bins
2% organic waste
1% hazardous materials
C) Compost Bins
4% plastics
4% paper, card & beverages
84% organic Waste
9% textiles, metals, glass & wood
By following the below steps, we can;
- Reduce our Domestic Waste by up to 59%;
- Increase our Recycling Rates by up to 34%
- Increase our Organic Waste by up to 17%
Steps to watch out for;
- Ensure all plastics are loose, clean and dry and are placed into the recycling bin.
- Rinse if required - if they are too contaminated, you're correct to leave in the domestic bin as to avoid contaminating other clean items in the recycling bin.
- Ensure all organic waste is placed into the organic waste bin
- Ensure all paper, card & beverage containers are loose, clean and dry and placed into the recycling bin.
- metals, glass & wood should not be in the domestic bin.
- metals need to go to direct facilities for processing via your council or local authority.
- Glass should go to the bottle bank and if possible, segregated by colour and wood to your recycling centre or pick up by a dedicated wood centre/facility.
- ensure the 1% of hazardous materials like aerosols or medicines are recycled at dedicated centres.
- Medicines should go to your local centre or domestic bin.
- Ensure all batteries & electronics are brought to your local WEEE centres.
Anyway, these are small changes - after all, this is all most of us can do.
There is a lot of crap going on at the moment but I don't think doing the above is asking for too much anyway.
If you made it this far and found this helpful - please let me know and / or spread the word.
I have been working on a lot the last few months and I would like to ensure as much as I can that what I learn is more of a shared learning experience.
Some of us don't have the time to look into things like this so let's help each other out where possible!
If you have any questions regarding Recycling or Narcissips in general, don't be shy in reaching out via email or through our Social Media platforms.
If I don't know, I will sure as hell try my best to find out for you.
All the best,
Cathal O Reilly
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