Four in five houses expected to have brown bin within three years

Up to 80% of all houses are expected to have a brown bin by 2018 as Ireland becomes more environmentally friendly.

More of us than ever before are recycling our leftover Christmas turkeys with an extra 150,000 brown recycling bins being rolled out.

According to the Irish Waste Management Association, nearly half of all homes with a collection service now separate their organic waste.

"Householders in Ireland have played a big part in the success of recycling," said IWMA Secretary, Conor Walsh.

"So it's a joint effort - it's driven by legislation, it's implemented by the waste industry and we have to roll out another, probably 200,000 households over the next couple of years, the IWMA members.

"So I think 75-80% of houses in Ireland will have a brown bin within the next two or three years."