Repak is encouraging Irish householders not to fall into bad recycling habits over the Christmas holiday season. Overall Repak estimates that Irish householders will generate approximately 220,000 tonnes of household waste (or 150 kilos per household) over the Christmas period. A third of this household waste or 75,000 tonnes is used packaging, the equivalent of 51 kilos of used packaging per household, or two thirds the weight of an average Irish male.
Repak is targeting to collect and recycle between 45-50% (circa 35,000 tonnes) of the used packaging generated over the holiday period. Last year Repak helped fund the recycling/recovery of 34,000 tonnes.
According to Repak, Irish recyclers have picked up some bad habits, when it comes to recycling around Christmas. According to a recent survey, Repak found that:
* 87% see littering at a Bring Bank as a problem, but 57% of these people admitted to leaving recyclable on the ground at a full bring bank. Therein themselves contributing to the littering and leaving themselves open to prosecution.
* 88% will keep going to the same location for recycling.
* 65% admit they do not know all of the recycling facilities in their area
* 62% of adults have turned up at a recycling centre to only find it closed outside of opening hours.
The research also revealed that when recyclers found a bring bank full, 45% admitted to leaving recyclables on the ground and 74% claimed they would look to find another recycling location.
Created by Repak in conjunction with all of the 34 local authorities, the Android and iPhone application lists all of the 2,000 bottle banks and recycling centre facilities nationally in the 26 counties.
This new App is in response to research conducted by Repak which showed 87% of people claimed they would find it useful to have access to recycling centre opening times, material accepted and locations on their phone. The key feature of the app is GPS locator allowing users to identify their nearest recycling facility while out and about and map their way to it through Google maps.
The Recyclemore app can be found on the iTunes store or Android Market or directly from Repak’s Recyclemore.ie website.