The cost of disposal of waste is increasing. There you have it, that’s a statement no-one wants to hear. But it’s a fact that the prospect of dumping our waste in the ground is no longer viable in the long term, especially as there are many alternatives available. Basically, we need to change the way we dispose of our waste, and this will come down to personal choices we make.  

If we consider these alternatives, there are so many ways in which we can divert our waste away from landfill into more sustainable channels. And the good news is that these options are often cheaper, and they will also help reduce the impact we have on the world we live in. 

Throughout the Summer, Green Aware Sligo is featuring ways to dispose of waste in a clean and more sustainable way. This includes filling you in on what items can and can’t be recycled, and what to put into your compost bin, or onto the compost heap in your garden. 

This week, we are going to look at a number of options which, if they suit you and are available locally, should help reduce your waste as well as put a few euro back in your pocket.  

The first of these is bin sharing. This is where two houses share the one waste disposal service. The same bins, the same charge, shared between two households. Currently less than 5% of households in Sligo avail of this service, and, while it may not suit all, it’s certainly one worth exploring. 

For example, family members living near each other may decide that a son or daughter could share with parents, provided that the arrangement suits both parties, or neighbours could also consider this as an option. The benefits are as follows: one account is registered, a single monthly standing charge applies, and the cost of the bin lifts itself are shared between you the two households. 

The account with the waste provider will be in the name of only one of the households, so it’s important that the other party completes a short Declaration Form available on www.sligococo.ie/greenaware, to let the local authorities know that you are availing of this service.  This is to ensure both households are accountable to the Local Authority and that waste is being managed in an environmentally sound manner. 

The second option involves bringing your waste to one of the civic amenity sites in Sligo. There are two of these, the one in Sligo Town is located at Deepwater Quay and is operated by Greenstar, the other is in Tubbercurry and is operated by Barna Waste. Times and opening hours are available on the website. It’s important that while the Greenstar facility caters for customers who want to bring most of their waste to the site, the Tubbercurry site is for recyclables and hazardous materials only, so you cannot bring your landfill or compost bins there.  

If you decide to bring either your wheelie bin, recycling or other waste to a civic amenity site – remember some of it can also be disposed of for free – you should provide the waste collector there with your Eircode and get a receipt. This means that, while we note that you are not availing of traditional kerbside collection, your receipts are proof that you are disposing of your waste in the correct way. 

If you decide to bring your recycling waste, for example, to one of the two civic amenity sites, you can make significant savings. The cost for a car load of recycling at both Barna and Greenstar is €4. Compare this with a kerbside collection which costs €4.50, and consider that you should be able to pack so much more into your car than into a wheelie bin, so you should be able to make significant savings over time. 

So the key message is recycle and compost more, bring your waste to the civic amenity sites and only use your landfill bin as the last resort. And as we all create waste on a daily and weekly basis, it will save you money in the longer term.