IN THE FIRST eight months of this year, an average of 37 glass bottles and jars were recycled per head of population, and they were primarily spirit and wine bottles, as well as cans.
In the same period, Ireland reached record levels of glass recycling, with an increase of nearly 10% in glass bottle collections.
Top recyclers
Galway people were the top recyclers for the third year running, with deposits of 50 bottles or jars for every man, woman and child in the city. Waterford City was the next best at recycling, with an average each of 49 items of glass recycled per person.
David Farrelly, Rehab Glassco said the figures show that there is an increase in glass collected from bottle banks, but also in collections from business – especially the hospitality sector, showing a return to growth for this section of the economy.
“Back in 1997, Ireland was one of the weakest performers in Europe at packaging recycling. Eurostat has now announced that we are now second which is a great achievement,” said Seamus Clancy of Repak, adding that he is confident we can make it to number one to become the greenest country in Europe.
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