How to recycle
Follow these simple directions to use any of the bring banks located around the county.
- Separate different colours of glass and put the correct colour into the correct coloured bank. If you have any blue glass bottles or jars, these may be placed in the green bottle bank. Please wash glass containers that have any liquid and/or food residue. Similarly, put the aluminium cans into the can banks.
- Remove lids if possible. Steel (jam jar) lids should be washed and recycled as part of the dry recyclable collection. Check with your recycling provider to see if they are allowed in your dry recycling collection.
- Never put drinking glasses, window glass, pyrex or crockery into the bottle banks. These materials contaminate the glass bottles and jars and make it un-recyclable.
Did you know that …..?
- Aluminum cans are not magnetic. A simple test therefore is to use a small magnet – if none is available, try magnetic catches on fridges, kitchen presses, etc. If it sticks it is not aluminum !
- A wide range of consumer goods are packaged in cans, including drinks, meats, fruits and animal foods. An increasing number of cans are now made entirely of aluminum , particularly soft drinks cans. Cans are also made from tin-plated mild steel and a mixture of steel and aluminum , all of which are recyclable. The aluminum can is the most valuable and by using recycled aluminum , 95% of the energy needed to produce aluminum cans from raw materials is saved.
- By recycling glass, you are helping to conserve a raw material and reduce the amount of materials going to landfill. During the manufacture of new glass, 40% of the raw material may be in the form of cullet (broken glass). Because of this, less energy needed to make new glass (recycled glass melts at a lower temperature in the furnace than raw materials so less fuel is required). On average, for every additional 10% of cullet used in the raw material batch, energy costs are reduced by 1% (ENFO, 2003).
However, please note that some items that you send for recycling might be suitable for reuse? If so, why not visit www.freetradeireland.ie where you can upload items for reuse free of charge! FreeTrade Ireland is a unique public service allowing you to pass on and pick-up items free of charge. Get involved today and start saving money and protecting your environment.