Recycling is important but not always easy. Most of us have heard that we should only place paper, tins & rigid plastic into our recycling bin and have to put styrofoam and soft plastic items such as plastic bags or cling film into the black bin.
Did you know that you can actually recycle styrofoam, clean soft plastic, aerosol cans and other items, which usually go into the black bin, at our ‘Ballyogan Recycling Park’ free of charge? They just have to be clean to be recycled. Isn’t that great?
We checked with DLRCC Waste Management Section and they explained how they recycle the different types of plastic:
The reason soft plastics are no longer accepted in household green bins is that there is no longer a market for it.
All plastics from Ballyogan Recycling Park are returned to Thornton’s material recycling facility in Park West where they are separated. Any non-recyclable plastic is shredded and used to produce SRF, solid recovered fuel, which is used as a replacement for fossil fuels in the production of cement at IPC licensed facilities such as Irish Cement and Lagan.
The only ‘Plastic wrapping’ which they don’t accept refers to food wrapping which is generally contaminated and not suitable for recycling.
They are currently reviewing which plastics are accepted for recycling at Ballyogan Recycling Park, however at the moment they accept everything listed below (as long as it’s clean).
Polystyrene is accepted too and will continue to be accepted for recycling.
All staff at the Ballyogan Recycling Centre are really friendly and helpful, ask them if you’re not sure about something.
They are open every day of the year:
Monday – Friday: 08.30 – 17.30
Saturday: 09.30 – 17.30
Sunday / Bank/Public Holiday: 10.30 – 17.30
Here is a summary of some of the items they accept free of charge, you can find more information about their services and all items they take at https://www.dlrcoco.ie/sites/default/files/atoms/files/brp_booklet_english_sept_2016.pdf
| YES | NO |
|---|---|
| Paper – Newspaper, junkmail, magazines, phone books, white paper | Plastic food wrapping (contaminated) |
| Cardboard – All cardboard packaging | |
| Polystyrene | |
| Clean Plastic Packaging – Plastic bags, Heavy duty wrapping, Yogurt cartons, Butter tubs, Cling film, Bread and meat packaging | Biscuit, sweet, crisp wrappers, plant pots, potting trays |
| Plastic Bottles – Soft drink, shampoo bottles, washing up liquid, solid milk containers, other tough containers, not easily torn, fruit and veg. packaging | Plastic toys, water butts, composters, plastic oil tanks |
| Aluminium Cans – Drink cans | Liquids, food stuffs |
| Steel Cans – Including biscuit tins | |
| Glass Bottles – Clear, brown and green bottles and jars (blue glass can be mixed with brown) | Pyrex, crockery, drinking glasses |
| Textiles – Blankets, shoes, old clothes, curtains, bed linen | Cushions, carpets, soiled clothing, duvets, pillows |
| Tetra Pak – Milk, juice and soup cartons | |
| Aerosols | |
| Print Cartridges |
| YES – free of charge | Examples |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Appliances | Washing machines, cookers, microwaves, fridge, freezers |
| Light Bulbs | Flourescent tubes, long life and filament bulbs |
| Batteries | Car batteries, mobile phone batteries, household batteries |
| Gas Cylinders | Place all cylinders upright (domestic type only) |
| Fire Extinguishers | Must be discharged (domestic type only) |
| Waste Oils | Cooking oil, motor oil. No Petrol, Heating Oil or Diesel |
| Electronic and Electrical Waste | Computers, monitors, printers, scanners, TVs, VCRs, CD/DVD players, stereos, electrical tools |
| Metals | Bicycles, scrap metal, radiators, petrol lawn mowers |
| Sheet/Plate Glass | Windscreens, mirrors, stained glass, patterned glass, wired glass, double glazing (no frames). No Ceramics |
The Gallops Estate 