Take away but don’t throw away, urges Repak

DEVOTEES of takeaway meals are being urged to wash out their trays and recycle them after it emerged that €90 million aluminium trays are dumped each year in Ireland.

While 50% of aluminium cans are now being recycled, up to €3 million worth of foil plates and trays end up in landfill, according to a Repak survey.

In Ireland the can recycling rate has steadily increased to an all time high of 50%, an improvement on last year, but the overall aluminium recycling rate is just 30%, reflecting the lack of recycling of trays which come with pre-packed meals, takeaways and confectionery.

Repak and the European Aluminium Association have launched a call for takeaway customers to wash out their trays and place them in the recycling bin or aluminium Bring Banks.

“This year during Repak Recycling Week we are focusing on one material a day to highlight the extra packaging types that people can recycle.”

Last year, Ireland recorded a packaging recycling rate of about 64% but, according to Mr Hetherington, the only way to increase this rate further is to target the items that people have not readily being recycling such as aluminium trays and foils.

“Frequently people are simply unaware of the wide range of items they could be recycling.”

According to the EAA, aluminium cans and foils can be recycled endlessly and new drinks cans could be back on the shelf as quickly as 60 days after they have been collected for recycling.