Households are encouraged to redouble efforts to recycle waste.
As National Recycling Week gets underway.a survey carried out by Repak, the body charged with helping Ireland reach EU recycling targets, has found that 30% of people who go to bring banks actually cause litter there. Darrell Crowe, marketing manager at Repak, says that this littering creates challenges for those trying to expand the recycling infrastructure.
According to the research, the campaign last year to encourage households saw recycling increase by by a quarter. However, under EU targets set for the end of this year, Ireland must recover 50 per cent of all packaging waste. IBEC, the group representing business, has warned that the government needs to do more to improve recycling facilities. Donal Buckley of IBEC says there are insufficient civic amenity sites to reach the targets.
Civic amenity sites are going to be the backbone of recycling in Ireland.
Most households are recycling paper and bottles but fall short when it comes to tins, cans, bulbs and batteries. This means that landfills are full of recyclable materials. Repak is providing incentives for people to recycle more through competitions to win cars and shopping vouchers. The Repak campaign also focuses on education, with information on recycling to be made available at 360 libraries. In addition, 3,300 primary schools will receive recycling calendars with the aim of getting the next generation of recyclers to get the current generation to do the right thing.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 3 October 2005. The reporter is Paul Cunningham.
