WHO RECYCLES MORE – northsiders or southsiders?

This is a question that Greyhound has set out to answer with its latest survey, which shows that Dublin 4 residents are the worst when it comes to recycling in the capital.

The waste management company studied recycling rates in nine different Dublin postcodes, which it says reveals that the northside of the city has a better recycling track record.

Green bins

The three best areas for both green and brown bin usage were all on the northside.

The worst performing area for green bin recycling was Dublin 4, at 23.7 per cent, against an average of 27.0 per cent across the nine areas surveyed.

When it came to brown bin recycling, the worst performing area was Dublin 8 at 13.3 per cent – the average was 18.0 per cent.

While green bins are used to collect materials like paper, cans and plastics for recycling, brown bins are for bio-waste like food and grass cuttings.

Greyhound Chief Executive Michael Buckley said that it is “extremely interesting to see the differences in the recycling rates right across Dublin”.

Buckley described it as “imperative that customers alter their recycling behaviour in order that Ireland meets its obligations under the EU Waste Framework Directive”.

How they did it

Greyhound’s study is based on measuring the weight of waste collected from bins across the Dublin City Council and South Dublin County Council areas which it services.

It then calculated the percentage of total weight accounted for by green and brown waste.

Buckley said that Greyhound is proud of the fact that in excess of 90 per cent of the waste it collects is recycled or recovered.

He pointed out that customers can help by trying to sort their rubbish into the correct bin. “This in turn, will help maximise the amount of material that can be recycled and recovered,” he explained.

Greyhound is the largest household waste collector in Ireland.

The study will be repeated in three months – so there’s time to get recycling and do your local area (as well as the environment) a favour.

What are your recycling tips? Tell us in the comments.

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