Households were today urged to recycle a record-breaking 15,000 tonnes of used packaging this month at the start of Recycling Week.
To reach the target, each family must environmentally dispose of 28 plastic bottles, five glass wine bottles, five beverage cartons, 6kg of cardboard, nine aluminium drinks cans and 20 food cans during October.
The 15,000 tonnes goal will beat last year's Repak Recycling Week which helped boost overall household packaging recycling rates by 59 per cent.
Repak chief Andrew Hetherington said Ireland has finally become a more environmentally-conscious country where householders make great efforts to recycle. "In many areas around the country, with the introduction of pay-by-weight/pay-by-use, people not only have an environmental but also a financial incentive to recycle more.
"Last year Repak helped Ireland achieve and exceed its EU 2005 packaging recycling target by 14% and this is why we are confident that everyone will club together and break the record this year."
Minister for Environment Dick Roche praised householders for making serious gains in recycling in recent years. "Projects such as Repak Recycling Week are important as they encourage people to further improve the level of waste that is recycled," he added.
As part of Recycling Week, Repak — the industry funded recycling body — will distribute activity packs to teachers in 3,491 national schools. Each day a series of activities has been devised to promote recycling in schools and homes. A public awareness campaign will include National TV, radio and newsprint advertising.
The 5th Repak Recycling Awards will take place on Wednesday to recognise the efforts of business people and local authorities.