Households face €34 bill for Christmas waste disposal

Households are facing an extra bill of €34 on average to deal with Christmas waste this year, according to a new report.

The report from Repak, an industry-funded recycling scheme, comes as most householders face their first Christmas under a "pay-by-use" or "pay-by-weight" system of refuse collection.

Andrew Hetherington, chief executive of Repak, said: "We produce a staggering 30 per cent additional used packaging over the Christmas period, thanks to our ever-increasing 'tiger economy' appetite for presents and parties.

"If you want to save money, and help do your bit for the environment, ensure you recycle your used packaging this Christmas. Recycling is becoming easier and easier as the collection infrastructure expands."

Repak points out that up to 30,000 tonnes of used packaging generated over Christmas could be recycled. The organisation yesterday enlisted the help of Minister for the Environment Dick Roche to offer recycling tips over the 12 days of Christmas.

Mr Roche advised: "We can each do small things this Christmas to stay ahead in the race against waste, such as reusing wrapping paper, composting fruit and vegetable peelings and bringing cans and glass to the Bring Centre for recycling. But we can always do more to win the race and make this the greenest Christmas yet."

Working with all local authorities, 90 special Repak Green Christmas Centres have been set up throughout the country with extended opening hours. Some of the larger sites will accept electrical and electronic goods as well as small items such as batteries and used mobile phones for recycling.

Some of the 420,000 Christmas trees expected to be sold this year can also be recycled at specially designated centres. The Repak report found that women are over a third more likely than men to regularly recycle. Further information can be found at www.repak.ie or by calling 1890 667639.