It can be taken to a recycling facility, or you can use a kerbside pick-up (if it is available). Organic waste can be taken to a recycling facility or you can compost it yourself. Please see the section ‘Composting’ below. Many facilities also accept bulky organic material.
There are three types: bring banks and civic amenity site. Many local authorities have temporary collection points set up each Christmas tree year. Repak, mywaste.ie, and your local authority will help you determine what is available.
Bring banks are unstaffed collection locations for recyclable materials, such as glass bottles and drinks cans. Some bring banks also have collections bins for clothes that are not in use.
These civic amenity locations are similar to bring-banks but can take a greater variety of items. They are purpose-built, staffed, and open during specific hours. They can accept paper, cardboard, plastic, and glass bottles, drink cans, food tins and food tins as well as textiles and footwear. Others also accept garden waste or Christmas trees.
They may also have home composting containers for sale.
The recycling centres are staffed and gated, have specific opening hours and accept a smaller range of items than the civic amenity websites. They generally do not accept large items. They don’t come with a custom-built design and are usually located at existing locations, such as local authority depots.
They may also have bins for sale or advice on recycling.
The kerbside collection of recyclable refuse is commonly known as a green bin collection. You can recycle plastic bottles, glass bottles as well as food tins and magazines.
Most areas now have separate bins for food and organic waste. This is often called a brown bin collection.
Composting involves the conversion of organic material, such as kitchen or garden waste, into an earth-like matter that can be used to fertilize soil. Many garden wastes and kitchen wastes can be composted. Please see our article on composting. If you don’t have organic material, some civic amenities accept them. You can also use the brown bin, if it’s available. Many local authorities offer home composting containers at reduced rates.
The following materials can be placed in your household waste recycle bin:
Paper and cardboard: Letters, brochures and flattened cardboard boxes. Egg boxes and cardboard centers made from kitchen roll. Newspapers.
Rigid plastic (washed & dried): plastic drink bottles and plastic cleaning bottles. Butter, yoghurt, and salad tubs. Plastic trays for fruit, vegetables, milk containers, and plastic bottles for liquid shampoo or soap.
Soft plastic (washed & dry): bread wrappers/frozen food bags, plastic shopping bags/bags, bubble wrap, crisp wrappers/pasta bags, outer wrapping on the kitchen and toilet rolls, and breakfast cereal bags
Soft plastics became eligible for recycling on the 6th of September 2021. This change was due to technology improvements at recycling facilities. It will help to increase the recycling rates in Ireland, so we can achieve our national recycling targets.
Tins and Cans (washed & dried): Soup, pet food, drink, and food cans
All items must be cleaned and dried before being placed in the recycling bin.
What can I take to a recycling center?
Recyclers accept many items. There can be a wide range of items that recycling centers accept.
To prevent contamination of materials, wash all bottles, yogurt pots, etc. Before you recycle. Most commonly recycled items are:
- Glass bottles and glass jars – Recycle caps/lids separately
- Paper (newspapers and magazines, phone books, office paper. Junk mail, comics.
- Drinks cartons (for milk, juice etc.)
- Aluminium (soft drink cans and beer cans; foil)
- Plastic bottles and cartons
- Food tins (fruits, vegetables, pet food, etc.)
- Plastic lids for plastic bottles, metal and aluminum lids
- Textiles: Clean clothes, bed linens towels, coats and jackets
- White goods (washing machines and dryers, dishwashers and fridges)
- Batteries also available in shops and supermarkets
Items that can’t be recycled
- Pyrex crystal glass, Pyrex television tubes, and opal glass (that’s alcohol bottles where a lot of foil is glued onto the bottle) as well as car windscreens
- Porcelain pottery, ceramic tiles and stones
- Carpets, rugs and cushions as well as mattresses.
- Waxed, laminated, or waxed paper like paper cups
Hazardous waste
Many household products may contain harmful substances. These substances include medicines, chemicals, aerosols as well as bulbs and fluorescent tubes. These items can be taken to a local civic facility, where they may be recycled or disposed. Your local pharmacy can dispose of any pharmaceutical drugs or medical waste, including painkillers and surgical gloves. Some local authorities arrange mobile collections so that hazardous waste can be left at one central point. For further information, please contact your local authority.
Recycling symbols
The most commonly used recycling symbol is the mobius-loop, three arrows inside a circle. This signifies that the product can be recycled or has some recycled content.
Rates
The majority of recycling services available to the public come at no cost. Some items, or large quantities, may be charged at recycling centers or civic amenity centres. Please check with your nearest centre. Your domestic waste fees may include a charge for kerbside collections. Please check with your service provider.
Local authorities often offer subsidised home composters.
Where to apply
You can find information about kerbside collections in your region on the website of your local authority.
Repak’s Search, mywaste.ie, or the website of your local authority can help you find a recycling center.
Instead of throwing out unwanted items, you can donate them to charity shops or sell them on a site that sells or donates them. You can also learn more about how to reduce waste.
What happens to recycled products?
Batteries
Lead acid batteries can be found in cars, trucks and boats as well as tractors. These batteries are made from plastic and contain dilute lead and sulphuric acids. The recycling process involves crushing the batteries, neutralizing the acid, and compacting the lead and plastic. A thermal process can be used for recycling button batteries (cameras/hearing aids/computers, calculators, etc.). A thermal process can also be used for domestic rechargeable batteries. It works by reclaiming the cadmium as well as nickel and iron. The cadmium reclaimed can be used for new batteries. Nickel and iron can then be used for stainless steel.
Glass
To prevent contamination, glass should be sorted by color. It is then crushed into ‘cullet. The cullet is used to make new glass. It can contain up to 40% of the original raw material. This results in substantial savings in raw materials as well as the amount of energy required to melt the glass.
Vehicles
You can take apart vehicles and remove any valuable materials.
White goods for households
Dismantling household appliances, such as washers, dryers or dishwashers, is possible. The ferrous, non-ferrous and mixed metals are separated. The rest are disposed of. Specialized recyclers are available to handle more complicated items like televisions and computers. These recyclers take apart equipment in order to resell it or recycle the valuable materials. They may also renovate entire systems to resell.
Aluminium
Aluminum cans are among the most valuable recyclable waste materials. You can recycle aluminum foil, both the heavy foil used in take-out and ready-to-cook meals. You can also use the lighter “tin foil” for cooking. Ingots are made from melted foil and aluminium cans. These ingots are then rolled to make cans or other products.
Oil
To generate heat, electricity, and both, waste mineral oil can be reprocessed as lubricant and fuel oil. Vegetable oils like cooking oil shouldn’t be mixed with mineral oil. These oils can be recycled and used for animal feeds or as fuel for adapted vehicles. Some recycling centres will accept domestic cooking oil.
Paper
Fire safety regulations require that paper recycling facilities be monitored. You can recycle newspapers, magazines and office paper. Collectible paper is sent to paper mills for recycling into new paper.
Plastic
To aid in recycling and identification, the plastics industry has developed a code that allows for the labelling of different plastic materials. Plastic containers used in homes are mostly made from HDPE (LDPE), PET (PVC) or PET. Most containers used to store soft drinks are made of PET (polyethene triterephthalate). These bottles can easily be shredded and reused as fiber for making polyester linings for quilted jackets, pillows, and sleeping bags. Recycling plastics can be used to make fencing, garden furniture and even bumpers.
Green waste
Home composting can be a good soil conditioner. Most garden and kitchen waste can be recycled. Some civic centers offer composting services and also sell the compost. Many local authorities also recycle Christmas tree. They are cut up and the shavings used to landscape.
Textiles
Textiles and clothes that are suitable to re-sale can be sent to charity shops for sale. Clothes and textiles not suitable for resale are made into carpet underlay felt or machine-wiping fabric, or used as fibre filler in furniture.
Dublin’s Rubbish Taxi is available to help you collect your trash
Rubbish Taxi in Dublin is a specialist trash removal company. Our services include rubbish removal Dublin, garden waste disposal, furniture disposal, mattress disposal, and regular waste collection.
Our fully-serviced vans travel the city, get the order and make their way directly to your property for domestic rubbish disposal. We do all the lifting. We are fully dedicated to responsibly disposing your rubbish in a professional manner.