Everything you ever wanted to know about your bins but felt too stupid to ask

What should I do with newspapers?

Newspapers are fully recyclable and should be placed in the recycling bin, loose, clean and dry. Remove any plastic bags or sleeves that they come in and put the plastic in the waste bin. The newspapers will be separated at the recycling facility in Ireland and consigned to a paper mill in Europe or Asia, typically. The paper will be pulped, the inks removed and the pulp remade into new rolls of paper, which will then be recycled into new paper products.

What about newspapers that got wet (such as after having been put on a washed floor) but are now dry?

If the paper has got wet and is fully dry again, it is recyclable and can be put into the recycling bin.

But what about newspapers that a puppy might have weed on but which is now dry?

Technically, once the paper is clean and dry it is recyclable. The challenge that the household would have is how or where do they dry the paper? As an alternative solution, the householder could put the wet paper into their compost bin and the paper – and wee – will be collected with the compost bin and eventually turned into compost.

How about clean egg boxes?

If they are paper-based they are fully recyclable but an alternative option is to reuse them. If you have a garden and are planting seeds, fill the separate egg pods with compost and plant your seeds into them. The egg pods can be transplanted into the soil in your garden when the weather improves. The egg pod will break down into the soil and the seed lines will continue to grow in the soil.

If the egg boxes end up in the recycling bin, they will be treated and recycled with the newspapers.

If the egg boxes are plastic, these are ‘rigid plastic’ and so once clean, loose and dry, they can be put into the recycling bin for recycling. The rigid plastic will be separated at the recycling facility and consigned to a plastic recycling facility in Europe or Asia. The plastic will be shredded and washed and the shredded flake will then be consigned to a plastic production plant, which will turn the plastic flake into new plastic items.

But how about egg boxes with bits of broken or dried egg in them?

If the egg boxes are plastic, a quick wash at the kitchen sink, allow to drip dry and then place them in the recycling bin. If the egg boxes are paper-based, I would suggest reusing them in your garden or putting them into your compost bin where they will be collected and turned into compost.

What about bread wrappers?

If paper-based or waxy, they can be placed into the recycling bin. If they are plastic, they should be placed in the waste bin. These wrappers are classified as soft plastic. Although some soft plastic is technically recyclable, there are typically seven types of plastics (polymer types) and, due to the wide range of plastic products per plastic type, it is next to near impossible for the current Irish recycling facilities to separate out all plastic types into their separate grades.

Additionally, the largest challenge Irish recycling facilities have in relation to soft plastic from households is size. The plastic items typically are relatively small and in huge individual numbers. In Irish recycling facilities, the machinery cannot separate out every piece and neither can our human quality control staff. Thus, we risk contaminating the mixed paper with some pieces of soft plastic. If the mixed paper gets contaminated with soft plastic, it is not allowed to be legally exported and if it is exported it may get rejected at the paper mill.

I know tea bags contain plastic, are they okay to compost?

Yes, tea bags are acceptable in the composting bin. They will break down in the industrial composting process.

What should we do with pet food cans?

These are recyclable and can be put in the recycling bin. Just wash them out to take out all the food residue and allow them to drip dry and place them loose in the recycling bin. The reason that they need to be washed out is for hygiene, and also we cannot legally export steel cans and food waste in the one shipment.

The steel cans will be separated at the Irish recycling facility and consigned to a metal recycling facility in Europe, typically. At the steel mill, the cans will be put into a smelter and the paper labels will burn off first. The can will then melt and become liquid and the smelter will make new sheets of metal, which will be sold on to industries to make new cans, or car parts out of the sheets of metal.

What about pet food in pouches?

These will typically be made from a composite of materials, such as a plastic outlet layer and a foil inner layer. As they are made from two different types of materials, they become very difficult to recycle. The plastic recyclers don’t want the foil and the aluminium recyclers don’t want the plastic. As such, these pet food pouches should be placed in the waste bin. Same goes for foil-backed crisp packets.

The waste bin in Ireland is mostly now processed to produce a ‘Solid Recovered Fuel’ for use in the cement industry or turned into material that will be sent to an incinerator. The material is going to be burnt to generate heat and electrical power so it gets one more useful use.

There are only three landfills left in Ireland and material is not sent directly to them from householders, like it used to be years ago. The waste industry has progressed and we aim to recycle or recover as much material as possible before using landfill as the last option.

Where should I put the trays my meat comes in?

The tray is made from rigid plastic, so just wash it clean and allow it to drip dry before placing it in the recycling bin. There might be a cardboard sleeve on the food tray, this is recyclable. The top of the plastic tray is typically a soft plastic. This is typically a different plastic polymer type from the actual tray, so the householder should pull off the soft plastic top and put this into the waste bin.

And the white paper that lines the bottom of these, which is always blood-soaked?

This soak pad is contaminated and should be pulled off the tray and put in the waste bin.

Where should we put ashes from our fire?

Ash from house fires that has come from when coal was burnt should be put in the waste bin, but only after it has fully cooled – remember your waste bin in plastic and will burn if hot ashes are put into it. Ash produced from coal has no nutritional value and can harm soil.

Ash from wood or turf fires can be placed in the compost bin or in your home compost bin also. Again, ensure that it has fully cooled.

No waste or plastic should be burnt in a home fire. These materials when burned will generate harmful emissions that will pollute the environment. Incinerators do not generate the same pollutants because they burn the waste at much higher temperatures and also have air-cleaning technology which scrubs the pollutants out of the air before the air is discharged into the environment.