ieExplains: Are we still putting our household waste in the wrong bin?
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The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has called on local authorities to carry out more "target enforcement" to ensure Irish householders segregate their waste properly.
According to an EPA report published on Tuesday, a majority of Irish householders are continuing to dispose of their waste in the incorrect bin.
The report also states that approximately two-thirds of the waste people are placing into their general (black) waste bin should not be going in there.
Roughly 2m tonnes of municipal waste is produced in Ireland annually.
The term 'municipal' encompasses most types of household waste such as:
- Residual waste — waste that cannot be recycled (usually placed in a black bin);
- Recyclable waste — glass, plastic, paper and board, metals (usually placed in a green bin);
- Organic waste — food and garden waste (usually placed in a brown bin);
- Bulky waste — ie waste that cannot fit in a wheelie bin (broken furniture, carpets, toys etc) and;
- Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).
What we do with our waste is of increasing importance. If we fail to segregate it correctly, the EPA says, it cannot be recycled properly, and thus ends up having to be incinerated or going into landfill.
Ireland incinerates quite a lot of its waste. The EPA has said previously that Ireland is 'over-reliant' on incineration. In 2020, for example, 42% our waste was incinerated, while 16% went to landfill. The EPA has also said that Ireland needs to reduce the share of municipal waste landfilled to 10% or less by 2035 to be in line with EU targets.
Essentially, improperly segregated waste adds to the amount which is incinerated and sent to landfill.
Though both incineration and landfill are used as waste disposal processes in most countries, each comes with its own environmental impacts.
Landfills can produce leachate, wind-blown litter and can attract of vermin. Methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas, is also a common by-product of landfills.
Incineration has a smaller environmental impact than landfill, and in 'waste to energy' plants, incinerated waste is converted into heat, gas, steam, and ash.
That said, this process can produce a by-product sometimes referred to as 'bottom ash' which can be environmentally damaging if not disposed of properly.
Furthermore, according to an EPA report from January, Ireland's two waste incinerators — in Indaver, Co Meath and Covanta in Dublin — are already running at or close to capacity.
Most waste service providers will have a guide on their website outlining what items go in what particular waste bin but here is a general guide:
Items that can go in your recycling bin include:
- Paper and cardboard — letters, brochures, cardboard boxes, egg boxes, cardboard centres from toilet roll and kitchen roll, newspapers, and juice/milk cartons;
- Rigid or 'hard' plastic — plastic drink bottles, cleaning and cosmetic bottles, butter, yoghurt and salad tubs, and plastic trays for fruit and vegetables;
- 'Soft plastic' — frozen food bags, bread wrappers, plastic shopping bags, bubble wrap, crisp wrappers, pasta/rice packaging, the outer wrapping on kitchen and toilet rolls, breakfast cereal bags etc;
- And tins and cans — soup cans, pet food cans, drink cans, and food cans.
These items, along with hard and soft plastic items, should be washed and dried before being put in your bin.
Items such as meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, bones, egg and dairy products, table scraps, fruit and vegetables, bread, dough, cakes, biscuits, pasta and grains/cereals, coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, soiled kitchen towels, and grass and flower trimmings can all be placed into the food/compost bin.
Items which cannot be recycled or composted can generally be put into your black in.
Some common items which can be placed into your black bin include: Nappies, soiled food packaging, bathroom waste, animal waste, aerosols, cooled ashes, black plastic bags, used candles.
However, some items — such as blocks, bricks and other builder material, electrical items, batteries, metals, oils and liquids, paint, and medical waste (expired/unused medications, bandages, needles etc — should not be placed in any of your bins.
Information on how these items can be disposed of can be found on mywaste.ie. This site also contains an A to Z list of typical household items and where and how they can be disposed of/recycled.
In its report, the EPA states that "urgent action is needed" if Ireland is to move to a circular economy and "close the wide gap to the national municipal recycling target".
The report assessed each local authority under 20 National Enforcement Priorities (NEPs) encompassing things such as waste enforcement, water enforcement, noise enforcement, air enforcement and governance processes.
Ten local authorities — Kildare, Meath, Fingal, Monaghan, Leitrim, Donegal, Cavan, Dublin City, Carlow and Cork County — achieved the required standard of strong or excellent in at least 70% of their NEPs.
But four authorities — Waterford, Offaly, Kilkenny and Wexford — achieved the required standard in only 30% or less of their NEPs.
Generally, the EPA said poor waste segregation remains "an ongoing problem" across the country, with households and businesses still putting the majority of their waste in the wrong bin.
The EPA said that local authorities had a responsibility to enforce the roll-out and use of three-bin systems, to educate people in its importance, and to help improve recycling of both household and commercial waste.
Speaking on , David Pollard of the EPA said local authorities have a "crucial" role in protecting the environment, as they are on the people closest to what is happening on the ground.
"The involvement of local authorities in solving our key environmental issues is absolutely critical," he said.