THE LATEST RECYCLING data from Repak says that over the Christmas period, Irish households will consume over 5 million boxes of chocolates, 22 million bottles of wine and drink more than 48 million bottles of beer.

Repak estimates that Irish householders will generate approximately 74,000 tonnes of used packaging waste over Christmas and receive nearly 12 million Christmas gifts.

Waste

Last Year Repak supported the recycling and recovery of over 44,667 tonnes of used household packaging which was over 10 per cent up on the previous year.

This year, Repak expects to generate enough cardboard and paper packaging waste to fill 647 articulated trucks – that’s 28,000 tonnes.

This Christmas, Repak is asking the public to recycle over the holiday season, stating that the recent Deloitte survey shows that Irish consumers will spend on average €894 this Christmas, with an average of €484.81 spent on gifts, €258.84 spent on food and €150.76 spent on socialising.

They said that with such an increase in consumption, it’s important that people recycle their waste.

Some tips on how to recycle over the Christmas include:

• Maximise your bin space by folding wrapping paper rather than crushing and folding boxes.
• Any excess waste can be brought to your local recycling centre. A mobile app called Recyclemore gives you up to date information about what recycle centres are open and can be accessed here.
• Reuse paper, boxes, bottles where you can.
• If you have a real Christmas tree you can recycle it at one of the many designated Christmas tree recycling centres around the country. Check opening hours and locations with your local authority or use the recycling facility search on www.recyclemore.ie

Read: Don’t bottle your recycling this Christmas>

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