Galway ranked second in national glass recycling figures
Galway City Council was ranked second in Ireland for the amount of glass it recycled per head of its population in the first seven months of the year – the equivalent of 76 bottles for every person living in the city between January and July this year.
And just behind it, Galway County Council was joint fifth in Ireland for the amount of glass it recycled per head of population in the first seven months of the year.
Overall, Galway recorded an increase in the amount of glass recycled in the first seven months of the year, with the combined total in both local authority areas reaching 3,026 tonnes, compared to 2,970 tonnes in the same timeframe last year.
The figures were released by Rehab Glassco, Ireland’s largest glass packaging recycling company, to mark Repak Recycle Week, which takes place this week.
This year’s Recycle Week is encouraging members of the public to ‘recycle better’ ensuring they minimise contamination in their waste.
In glass recycling the biggest contamination issue is ceramics (cups, plates and saucers). Even a small amount of ceramic material such as crockery can contaminate a much larger batch of glass.
Glass cullet (waste glass) is melted down to create new recycled glass. However, ceramic melts at a much higher temperature than glass, meaning that as little as 10g of ceramics, or just one cup handle, per tonne of glass can cause contamination. Contamination in recycled bottle manufacture can weaken the structure of bottles and jars.
Over the past number of years, glass recycling has become routine for householders in Ireland as awareness of environmental concerns has increased.
On a national basis, the first seven months of the year have seen a very positive increase in tonnage in 90% of local authority areas that Rehab Glassco services.
Between 2008 and 2011, the tonnage declined and from 2012 until 2015 there have only been small increases. This year, for the first time since the recession began, glass recycling is up in the vast majority of local authority areas.
“These figures are very positive and it shows that Irish people are still committed to high levels of responsible recycling. This has also contributed to Ireland’s position close to the top of the recycling league table in Europe,” said Rehab Glassco Operations Manager David Farrelly.
“Rehab Glassco’s continued progress on glass recycling shows that Ireland has completely transformed how it recycles packaging and glass in the last 19 years,” added Repak CEO Seamus Clancy.
“The progress Ireland has made through collaboration of all stakeholders, from Rehab Glassco to our 2,085 participating members and the buy in from consumers makes it the one of the most successful Producer Responsibility schemes in Ireland and an exemplar within the EU,” he said.