Domestic waste & Recycling
There is a wide range of services and facilities to recycle domestic waste. As well as reducing the volume of waste going to landfill sites, recycling and composting your domestic waste helps to minimise charges for waste collection.
There are several ways of arranging to recycle waste. You can take it to a recycling facility or use a kerbside collection (if available). For organic waste, you may choose to compost it yourself – see ‘Composting’ below or use a kerbside collection. Many recycling facilities accept bulky organic waste as well.
There are 3 types of permanent recycling facility: bring banks, civic amenity sites and recycling centres.
Bring banks 
They are unstaffed collection points for recyclable materials like glass bottles, drinks cans and food cans. Some bring banks also have collection bins for unwanted clothes.
Civic amenity sites 
They are similar to bring banks but can accept a larger variety of items. They are purpose-built, are staffed and have specific opening hours. In general, they accept paper, cardboard, plastic and glass bottles, drinks cans and food tins, textiles and footwear, electrical equipment, fluorescent tubes, waste oil and DIY waste. Some also accept garden waste and Christmas trees.
Staff at civic amenity sites can provide advice and information about recycling and they may have home composting bins for sale.
In Cork, Cork City Council is responsible for this Civic Amenity Site located on the South City Link Road (opposite Black Ash Park & Ride).
Recycling centres are also staffed and gated and have specific opening hours, but accept a smaller variety of items than civic amenity sites. In general, they do not accept very bulky items. They are not custom-built and tend to be located in existing sites such as local authority depots.
Again, staff can provide advice and information about recycling and they may have home composting bins for sale.
Kerbside collection of recyclable waste is often known as a ‘green bin’ collection. Recyclable materials include plastic bottles, glass bottles, drink cans, food tins, newspapers or magazines, and cardboard
Most areas now have a separate bin collection for organic waste – often called a ‘brown bin’ collection. Read more on brown bin.ie.
Composting is the breakdown of organic material like kitchen or garden waste by organisms that convert it into an Earth-like mass, which can then be used as a soil conditioner. Most garden waste and much kitchen waste can be composted – see our document on composting. Some civic amenity centres accept organic materials, or you can use the ‘brown bin’, if available. Many local authorities sell home composting bins at subsidised rates.
