90pc of homes are now recycling rubbish

WE'VE finally turned our back on dealing with rubbish in the old way and are now recycling like mad.

Almost 90pc of households now recycle some of their household waste compared to just 48pc in 1999.

New Central Statistics Office figures released yesterday show that we are becoming more green conscious.

And if facilities for recycling were available to everybody then the figures would be even better.

"While 165,200 householders did not recycle any waste items in 2005, 28,600 of these reported that they would recycle if facilities were available," said the CSO.

Dublin proved to have the highest percentage of recycling, due mainly to the widespread availability of facilities including green wheelie bins and Bring Centres.

Almost 94pc of Dublin householders recycle their rubbish, while in the Border regions the figure is as low as 78pc.

Increase

All regions reported a large increase in household recycling levels over the six-year period from 199 to 2005, with the west showing the biggest increase.

Rented or rent-free dwellings reported a recycling rate of almost 82pc, in comparison to just over 90pc for owner-occupier dwellings.

Education also seems to play a part in rising recycling figures, because houses where there was just one adult with no children reported the lowest recycling rate of 76pc, but with two adults and one to three children recycling was 95pc.

Paper was the most commonly recycled household item, at 82pc, while clothing was the least recycled bracket, at almost 63pc. In 1999 clothing was the most recycled item.

In all regions more householders brought glass and clothing to a collection point rather than have the items collected.

Most households used double glazing for energy conservation instead of any other measure. A total of 1.2m homes ( 79.3pc) had double glazing.

Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent