Householders will have to separate food from waste

All households around the country will have to start separating their biodegradable food and garden waste from general household waste over the next three years, under new regulations.

At present, a brown bin collection service is only available to one third of households with a refuse collection service.

Most of the remaining homeowners can only avail of a two-bin collection service — a black bin for residual waste and a green bin for dry recyclables.