Repak is celebrating 15 years of recycling success in Ireland with consumers recycling more than ever. In total since 1998, Repak has helped increase packaging recycling up from under 15% in 1998 to over 66% in 2011, with over 6.3 million tonnes of used packaging diverted from landfill.
According to recent research by Repak, conducted by MRBI amongst a representative sample of 1,000 adults, shows a dramatic improvement in their recycling habits both in the home and a marked improvement in the office, but still shows areas for improvement.
The average claimed household recycling rate increases from 58% in 2011 to 65% in 2012. Also the number of people claiming to recycle regularly from around their homes and their offices has increased. The survey showed that 57% of people recycled regularly from the bathroom in 2012 (versus 43% in 2010). 44% recycled more in their bedroom (an increase from 30% in 2010). When it came to the living room 45% of respondents recycled from their living room, an increase from 38% in 2010.
In fact, the research also showed that the average claimed recycling rate in work increased from 56% in 2011 to 63% in 2012, but recycling from the office desk at 35% and workplace kitchen at 44% lags behind recycling in the home. This shows there is a lot more we can all do in helping to increase our workplace recycling. To assist in this Repak has supported the launch of Every Can Counts in Irelandin conjunction with Alupro Ireland. This program aims to increase drinks can recycling in the workplace, colleges and “on the go”.
This increase highlights the nationwide success of packaging recycling over the last 15 years. In fact, packaging recycling rates for 2011 at 651,000 tonnes – represents a 650% increase since 1998, whenIrelandwas recycling only 101,000 tonnes per annum. Ireland is now ranked 7th in Europe for Packaging recycling.