Organised by the ‘sick of plastic campaign‘, people are being encouraged to leave the excess plastic packaging (very politely) after payment at the cashier till. Many shops are being informed of this campaign but if your local shop or retailer doesnt know be sure to give them the heads up! There has already been a big response with the media but still it is the power of the people who must make the change.
The irish government is moving at a snails pace in comparison to some of it’s european neighbours to reduce/eliminate single use or non recyclable materials. With a bit of knowledge and elbow grease recycling and reducing your waste can help the environment as well as your bin charges dramatically.
To help distinguish what plastics can and cannot be recycled, www.recyclinglistireland.ie is here to do so. Unfortuntaly, a lot of the plastic that our fresh fruit and veg is concealed in cannot be recycled. Inevitably, it is put into the wrong bin which then takes up more time to separate from the recyclable material. It seems to be a lose-lose situation for us, the consumer, and so a solution would be is to be rid of it altogether.
Sweden is a prime example of…
Organised by the ‘sick of plastic campaign‘, people are being encouraged to leave the excess plastic packaging (very politely) after payment at the cashier till on APRIL 21st. Many shops are being informed of this campaign but if your local shop or retailer doesnt know be sure to give them the heads up!
There has already been a big response with the media but still it is the power of the people who must make the change. The irish government is moving at a snails pace,in comparison to some of it’s european neighbours, to reduce/eliminate single use or non recyclable materials. With a bit of knowledge and elbow grease recycling , reducing your waste can help the environment as well as reduce your bin charges dramatically.
To help distinguish what plastics can and cannot be recycled, www.recyclinglistireland.ie is here to do so. Unfortuntaly, a lot of the plastic that our fresh fruit and veg is concealed in cannot be recycled. Inevitably, it is put into the wrong bin which then takes up more time to separate from the recyclable material. It seems to be a lose-lose situation for us, the consumer, and so a solution would be is to be rid of it altogether.
Sweden is a prime example of how it should be done, with a 1% as their landfil waste. To do this, ‘the government installed thousands of recycling stations all over the country, and none more than 300 meters from a residential area, as a rule. Much of the material that is collected, sorted and recycled is used for projects within Sweden, such as construction, and is used within the walls of buildings to provide strength and reinforcement.’ (www.plasticexpert.co.uk/uk-plastic-recycling-sweden)
With a month to go till ‘Shop and Drop’ , we can still make little changes in the meantime to reduce our plastic waste, e.g. using reusable coffee cups and water bottles, saying no to a straw when you are out and about etc. There are plenty of products that can be purchased online such as www.littlegreenshop.ie which is a local company that helps you shop and live in a more eco friendly environment. For more info on how to live a plastic free life or reduce your carbon foot print click here.
