Arklow Recycling Centre

Bullseye1

Just a heads up to those using the recycling center. They no longer accept:

1. Soft Plastics/bags
2. Tetra pack cartons

I spoke to one of the people working in the center and apparently it takes too long to produce enough tetra pack tonnage for collection and by the time its ready for collection the packaging is septic. He recommended that people move from tetra to plastic bottles.

Aenaes

When was this?
I know they are no longer taking those items in the Wicklow town recycling centre since last week or so but I heard it was because people weren't washing the tetra packs and were throwing in crisp packets (among other things) along with the soft plastic.

We were hoping Arklow wasn't going to follow their lead since we heard the staff in the Wicklow town facility were alot stricter.

Annasopra

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT –
RECYCLING CENTRES IN COUNTY WICKLOW

From Monday, 12th August 2013, the Recycling Centres at Arklow, Avoca, Bray, Rampere (Baltinglass) and the Murrough (Wicklow) together With The Community Recycling Centre In Tinahely Will No Longer Be Accepting The Following Waste Streams:

• Soft Plastic
• Tetrapak
• Polystyrene

Wicklow County Council can only accept waste if it can find a broker for the waste. It can only accept waste that it knows can be recycled or has a good chance of recovery

Soft Plastic
Unfortunately, the quality of the soft plastic is so poor that it is only fit for landfill or incineration. Domestic rubbish, crisp packets, sweet wrappers, meat wrapping all make the soft plastic unusable. It can’t be recycled and there is no point in telling the public otherwise.

Tetrapak
We all wait until we have an amount of tetrapak to bring to the centres. Some people leave rotten milk or juice in the containers. By the time it is baled and ready to send off site it smells very badly. Our brokers are refusing to accept tetrapak from WCC any more.

Polystyrene
WCC can no longer find an outlet for the polystyrene for recycling. There is no point in telling the public otherwise. As a result it is building up and becomes a fire hazard.

What Can I Do?
• Swap Tetrapak For Plastic Bottles. Clean Plastic Bottles are easily recycled
• Give These Wastes To Your Domestic Refuse Collector. The Collectors Have The Landfills, The Recovery Facilities, The Export Facilities, Etc. But There Is A Reasonable Chance They Cannot Get Rid Of These Waste Streams Either
• Bring The Polystyrene Back To Where It Came From. Unless The Premises Is A Member Of Repak They May Be Obliged To Accept It.

The Recycling Centres survive based on income received from the sale of recyclables, subsidies, money from the plastic bag levy and charges. They cannot survive if too much money has to be spent disposing of waste.

It would be wrong to continue to accept these waste streams if the public thought they would be recycled.
For further information talk to a member of staff in the Recycling Centres or visit www.wicklow.ie
Jul 23

NobodyImportant

Sure, I'll send the polystyrene back to Amazon....

Damn it, it was a great place to get rid of that stuff.

Niles

mango salsa wrote: »

Soft Plastic
Unfortunately, the quality of the soft plastic is so poor that it is only fit for landfill or incineration. Domestic rubbish, crisp packets, sweet wrappers, meat wrapping all make the soft plastic unusable. It can’t be recycled and there is no point in telling the public otherwise.

Tetrapak
We all wait until we have an amount of tetrapak to bring to the centres. Some people leave rotten milk or juice in the containers. By the time it is baled and ready to send off site it smells very badly. Our brokers are refusing to accept tetrapak from WCC any more.

One wonders if people were a bit more considerate when it comes to these facilities would this have happened. I've seen people dump greasy burger cartons, meat packets, etc when it's obvious these aren't recyclable.

NobodyImportant

Anyone know where to get rid of polystyrene? Got a fridge yesterday and it was well packed out with the stuff. It came direct from a distributor and they wouldnt take the box back. There is half a green bin full of it!

Alun

They definitely take it at the Bray recycling centre, so I'd assume the other Wicklow CC run centres would too.

EDIT: Oops, just saw Mango Salsa's post ... looks like I got in just before the change in policy.

NobodyImportant

I just checked the website and it doesnt mention that the new policy excludes it, and in the search box, it says they do take it. Will try my luck on Saturday i guess.

Niles

NobodyImportant wrote: »

I just checked the website and it doesnt mention that the new policy excludes it, and in the search box, it says they do take it. Will try my luck on Saturday i guess.

The notice in Mango Salsa's post would suggest it is not longer accepted, although I think only Bray took it anyway. Arklow didn't.

NobodyImportant

Bray accepted Polystyrene on Saturday thankfully.

slowburner

Contrary to what is stated in the notice above, a supervisor at a recycling centre told me the reason for not accepting soft plastic - and possibly the other materials - is that China is over capacity.
In other words, there is no longer an outlet or market for these materials.