About Us

Race Against Waste is the Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government’s campaign to raise awareness of waste issues and change behaviour among people at home and at work in order to reduce the amount of waste being produced and increase recycling and composting.

The campaign:

• works closely with Environmental Awareness Officers in all of the local authorities, who work locally with householders, schools, businesses and community groups
• provides advice and information directly to the public through a lo-call telephone information line and email, both operated by Environmental Scientists
• encourages communities to minimise, recycle and compost their waste through the national Tidy Towns competition’s Race Against Waste module
• runs a programme of action for business, including nationwide seminars, in partnership with the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland
• informs the public through an on-going public relations campaign in national and local press and media
• raises awareness through an extensive advertising campaign on TV, radio, press and outdoor.

In 2005, new programmes of action for the public sector, youth and sport will be launched.

Message from Dick Roche, TD, Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government

It is not enough to be aware that there is a waste problem; we must be willing and informed enough to take the action needed to solve it.

Race Against Waste is helping to change the way we deal with waste. The increased recycling that is now taking place has sprung from the realisation that waste is an issue for everyone and everyone must help eliminate it. Cleaning up waste is costly; waste prevention and recycling saves money.

A modern legislative framework and an effective enforcement system are now in place. 42% of households now have a green bin collection. We now have about 1,800 bring centres and Civic Amenity Sites. These improvements in our recycling infrastructure are making it easier to recycle. Pay by use will be a further incentive to households to improve domestic waste management.

So much of the waste we generate could be reused, recycled and transformed from rubbish into a resource. Ireland now recycles 20% of household waste, up from 9% in 1998 yet far behind the Netherlands (59%) and Austria (58%).

As well as paper and glass there is now a growing list of other materials that we can recycle, including cans, plastic bottles, drink cartons and plastic milk containers.

By simply separating out the things we throw away and enabling them to be recycled, we can save valuable raw materials and help create new products.

Building on the successes of the first year the Race Against Waste
campaign is generating change through:

• A media campaign which will continue to turn awareness into action by showing us:
  • how to recycle cans, paper, glass and plastic bottles
  • how to compost garden and kitchen waste
• what to do about unwanted “Junk Mail"
• Continuation of the Small Change Programme for business
• Community involvement through the Tidy Towns network
• New programmes of action in partnership with organisations such as government offices, third level colleges, hospitals, prisons, transport providers, hotels, local authority buildings and others.

Remember, to win the Race Against Waste, more things must be recycled by more people, more often.

The Race goes on…