Waste

What Can We Do?

Where Are We Now?

"Waste is a design flaw"

-Nate Morris, Chairman and CEO at Rubicon

Waste Now

"The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. Marine debris is litter that ends up in oceans, seas, and other large bodies of water."   

National Geographic

The Lowdown On Waste

8 Million Tonnes

It is estimated that 8 million tonnes of plastic waste enters the oceans every year - about 1 truckload every minute, or the equivalent of over 26,600 Boeing 747 planes.

Watch The Video

Source: CNBC

Plastic is suffocating our oceans.

In 2017, there was "more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic, with a combined mass of more than 250,000 tons, are floating in our oceans."

- Toothcrush

Thing you didn't know contained plastic

Cigarette butts are the most commonly polluted plastic. About 4.5 trillion individual butts are polluting our global environment.

- Earthday

Cash for Trash - New York

The New York State Returnable Container Act, also known as the "Bottle Bill", has been a tremendous success.

Since its passage, the Bottle Bill has achieved significant impacts to create a cleaner and healthier New York.

The Bottle Bill reduces roadside container litter by 70 percent and in 2016 helped to recycle 5.1 billion plastic, glass and aluminium beverage containers totalling more than 246,000 tons; at no cost to local governments.

Waste What Can We Do

What Can We Do?

Refuse

Refuse Plastics - especially single use

About 4 Trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year. Only 1% are returned for recycling.

Stop using cling-film. Washable containers work perfectly (and look nicer in your fridge!)

Reduce

Reduce purchases of difficult to recycle items.

Reduce the amount you purchase and only purchase what is necessary - there is no need to buy in excess of what you need.

Repair

Mend shoes and clothing where possible.

Sell, swap or donate what you don't use need any more.

Give away items you no longer want or need on sites such as FreeCycle Ireland.

Reuse

Use reusable items wherever you can.

Cotton/sustainable bamboo cloths in the kitchen are a great alternative to kitchen paper. Save yourself the money, while saving trees.

Rot

Compost food scraps.

Food waste that goes into landfill produces methane as it decomposes in a low/no oxygen environment.

Try start your own composting at home or use your local composting service.

Recycle

Where you cant do any of the above, ensure you recycle all recyclable materials.

It is important to ensure you recycle wisely so as to not contaminate other recyclable materials.

National Spring Clean 2021

From April 12th, two households can take part in a clean-up together within their county or 20km radius of their households.

These guidelines remain in place until further Government guidance is announced.

Included in An Taisce Clean-up Kit: bags, pairs of gloves and some hi-viz vests

Waste - Comm Clean

Zero Waste Living

Consider zero waste living

markus-spiske-mvu1-Gzg1tg-unsplash_edite

Food Waste

Find Out More - Stop Food Waste

Food waste that goes into landfill doesn't decompose as usual.

A head of lettuce can take up to 25 years to decompose in landfill.

Don't put your food waste in your general waste bin, please!

Surfrider Foundation Europe

Surfrider Europe was created in 1990 by a group of surfers who wanted to preserve their playground. Grass-roots activism to protect our oceans and coasts is at the core of the organisation.

Surfrider Foundation Europe

Surfrider Foundation USA

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation

"OUR MISSION IS TO ACCELERATE THE TRANSITION TO A CIRCULAR ECONOMY"

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Producers & Manufacturers to Take More Responsibility

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) refers to producers, importers and brand holders legal responsibility to manage their products and packaging after consumer use in the EU countries and Canada.

Greenstreets - Environmental Resources

Resources We Recommend

WASTE PACKAGING STATISTICS FOR IRELAND
EPA Waste Data Release, 30 July 2020

6 Ways You Can Save the Ocean from Home - Ocean Conservancy

Your A to Z of all things waste - MyWaste

Rotten || This docuseries travels deep into the heart of the food supply chain to reveal unsavory truths and expose hidden forces that shape what we eat. - Netflix

Jamaica: Plastics ban creates new opportunities

Photograph: UNEP

UN Environment Program, Monday January 25th 2021

"Every September, on International Coastal Cleanup Day in Jamaica, plastic is the most collected material. In 2019, the top 10 items collected were all single-use plastic and polystyrene (foam) waste, anything from plastic bottles to food wrappers.

More than 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans globally, each year, adversely impacting ecosystems, biodiversity and potentially human health."

Waste

"Waste is a design flaw"

-Nate Morris, Chairman and CEO at Rubicon

"The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. Marine debris is litter that ends up in oceans, seas, and other large bodies of water."

The Lowdown On Waste

8 Million Tonnes

It is estimated that 8 million tonnes of plastic waste enters the oceans every year - about 1 truckload every minute, or the equivalent of over 26,600 Boeing 747 planes.

Plastic is suffocating our oceans.

In 2017, there was "more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic, with a combined mass of more than 250,000 tons, are floating in our oceans."

- Toothcrush

Thing you didn't know contained plastic

Cigarette butts are the most commonly polluted plastic. About 4.5 trillion individual butts are polluting our global environment.

- Earthday

Cash for Trash - New York

The New York State Returnable Container Act, also known as the "Bottle Bill", has been a tremendous success.

Since its passage, the Bottle Bill has achieved significant impacts to create a cleaner and healthier New York.

The Bottle Bill reduces roadside container litter by 70 percent and in 2016 helped to recycle 5.1 billion plastic, glass and aluminium beverage containers totalling more than 246,000 tons; at no cost to local governments.

What Can We Do?

Refuse

Refuse Plastics - especially single use

About 4 Trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year. Only 1% are returned for recycling.

Stop using cling-film. Washable containers work perfectly (and look nicer in your fridge!)

Reduce

Reduce purchases of difficult to recycle items.

Reduce the amount you purchase and only purchase what is necessary - there is no need to buy in excess of what you need.

​

Repair

Mend shoes and clothing where possible.

Sell, swap or donate what you don't use need any more.

Give away items you no longer want or need on sites such as FreeCycle Ireland.

​

​

Reuse

Use reusable items wherever you can.

Cotton/sustainable bamboo cloths in the kitchen are a great alternative to kitchen paper. Save yourself the money, while saving trees.

​

​

Rot

Compost food scraps.

Food waste that goes into landfill produces methane as it decomposes in a low/no oxygen environment.

Try start your own composting at home or use your local composting service.

​

Recycle

Where you cant do any of the above, ensure you recycle all recyclable materials.

It is important to ensure you recycle wisely so as to not contaminate other recyclable materials.

​

National Spring Clean 2021

From April 12th, two households can take part in a clean-up together within their county or 20km radius of their households.

These guidelines remain in place until further Government guidance is announced.

Included in An Taisce Clean-up Kit: bags, pairs of gloves and some hi-viz vests

Zero Waste Living

Consider zero waste living

Food Waste

Food waste that goes into landfill doesn't decompose as usual.

A head of lettuce can take up to 25 years to decompose in landfill.

Don't put your food waste in your general waste bin, please!

Surfrider Foundation Europe

Surfrider Europe was created in 1990 by a group of surfers who wanted to preserve their playground. Grass-roots activism to protect our oceans and coasts is at the core of the organisation.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation

"OUR MISSION IS TO ACCELERATE THE TRANSITION TO A CIRCULAR ECONOMY"

Producers & Manufacturers to Take More Responsibility

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) refers to producers, importers and brand holders legal responsibility to manage their products and packaging after consumer use in the EU countries and Canada.

Resources We Recommend

WASTE PACKAGING STATISTICS FOR IRELAND EPA Waste Data Release, 30 July 2020

6 Ways You Can Save the Ocean from Home - Ocean Conservancy

Your A to Z of all things waste - MyWaste

Rotten || This docuseries travels deep into the heart of the food supply chain to reveal unsavory truths and expose hidden forces that shape what we eat. - Netflix

In The News

Jamaica: Plastics ban creates new opportunities

Photograph: UNEP

UN Environment Program, Monday January 25th 2021

"Every September, on International Coastal Cleanup Day in Jamaica, plastic is the most collected material. In 2019, the top 10 items collected were all single-use plastic and polystyrene (foam) waste, anything from plastic bottles to food wrappers.

More than 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans globally, each year, adversely impacting ecosystems, biodiversity and potentially human health."

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"The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. Marine debris is litter that ends up in oceans, seas, and other large bodies of water."   

WASTE PACKAGING STATISTICS FOR IRELAND
EPA Waste Data Release, 30 July 2020

Want to hear more from us?
We promise that we won't bombard you!