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Do you have sweet papers, wet paper or plastic bags in your recycling bin? If so, then you are contributing to the growing amount of recycling rejected due to contamination. Why is this happening? Well many people believe that all plastic is recyclable whereas the reality is that only certain plastic such as rigid plastic is recyclable. If you look at the food items you buy every week during your shopping trip and look at the packaging around these items, you will find that a fraction of the packaging can go into the recycling bin. So here is a quick quiz... To make a chicken curry, you need to buy the ingredients but what do you do with the packaging. Is all the packaging recyclable?

• Plastic container from the chicken
• Plastic wrap/bag from peppers, onions and mushrooms
• Tin from coconut milk
• Plastic container from fresh coriander leaves
• Milk carton
• Plastic wrap/bag from rice
• Plastic wrap/bag from naan bread

Four items from the list can be recycled, once they are clean and dry,  and these are the plastic rigid containers, milk carton and tins. All other items must go into the general waste bin. It is important to point out that if an item is put into the recycling bin that shouldn't be put in there e.g. plastic bag, wet paper, sweet wrappers, dirty containers, then this will end up contaminating the load and will end up as landfill waste. So to increase awareness and improve on recycling, let your friends and neighbours know. Think about it this way, if your neighbour puts incorrect material into their recycling bin, then this will impact the overall load... After all your efforts to recycle better!

KWD Recycling is one of the largest waste collection companies in Kerry servicing both domestic and commercial customers. Bins are provided for recycling, general waste and food. They operate a ‘pay by weight’ charging system so the less you weigh, the less you pay. KWD Recycling is serious about recycling and want to encourage communities to get involved and recycle better. For more information on recycling visit recyclinglistireland.ie and kwd.com.