Where does my Recycling go?

We focus on collecting high-quality materials that can be recycled locally. 

 

All the recyclables we process are transported to legitimate and regulated companies for further processing/recycling.

  Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland Great Britain Europe Rest of World
Kerbside Collections: 
Box and Wheelie Box
82% 3% 6% 9%
Materials Recovery Facility: 
Co-mingled bins
22% 52% 11% 15%
Donegal Recycling Centres 70% 2% 0% 28%
Conwy Recycling Centres 0% 100% 0% 0%

 

Material Source Where did it go? What happened to it?

Food Waste

Kerbside box and Wheelie Box

Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland

Composted to make new fertiliser/soil.

Glass

Kerbside box and Wheelie Box

Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland

Glass is melted down and used to make new bottles for local products.

Paper

Kerbside box and Wheelie Box

Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland

Paper is recycled being made into new moulded fibre products such as egg boxes.

Aluminium

Kerbside box and Wheelie Box

Great Britain

Aluminium cans are melted down and used to make ingots that contain enough metal to make 1.5 million new drink cans.

Cardboard

Kerbside box and Wheelie Box

Great Britain, Europe and Rest of World

Pulped before being made into new products.

Plastic

Kerbside box and Wheelie Box

Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland & Great Britain

Plastics are used to make pipes for the agricultural, civil engineering and construction industries. Items are also shredded into flakes and pellets for reuse in new products.

Steel

Kerbside box and Wheelie Box

Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland

Used for resale for manufacturing and construction. Steel is also melted down and reused to make new steel products.

Cartons

Kerbside box and Wheelie Box

Great Britain 

Moulded Fibre Products.

Aluminium

Materials Recovery Facility - Co-mingled bins

Great Britain

Aluminium cans are melted down and used to make ingots that contain enough metal to make 1.5 million new drink cans.

Cardboard

Materials Recovery Facility - Co-mingled bins

Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Great Britain & Rest of World

Pulping for new products and moulded fibre products.

Plastic

Materials Recovery Facility - Co-mingled bins

Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland & Great Britain

Plastics are used to make pipes for the agricultural, civil engineering and construction industries. Plastics are also made into flakes and pellets for reuse.

Steel

Materials Recovery Facility - Co-mingled bins

Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland

Used for resale for manufacturing and construction. Melted down and reused to make new steel products.

Cartons 

Materials Recovery Facility - Co-mingled bins

Great Britain

Moulded Fibre Products.

Paper

Materials Recovery Facility - Co-mingled bins

Great Britain, Europe & Rest of World

Pulping for New Products.

Batteries Donegal - Recycling Centre Great Britain & Europe Refining and separation of components.
Cardboard Donegal - Recycling Centre Rest of World  Pulping for new products.
Cooking oil Donegal - Recycling Centre Northern Ireland Recycled further into fuel, electricity, heat and fertiliser.
Engine oil Donegal - Recycling Centre Republic of Ireland Fuel used in power stations.
Grass and small cuttings Donegal - Recycling Centre Republic of Ireland Used as fertiliser by local farmers.
Ink Cartridges and Phone Batteries Donegal - Recycling Centre Great Britain & Europe Refining and separation of components.
Metal Donegal - Recycling Centre Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland Melted down and reused.
Paint Donegal - Recycling Centre Republic of Ireland & Europe Separated and shipped to Belgium for further recycling.
Paper  Donegal - Recycling Centre Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland Paper is recycled being made into new fibre products such as egg boxes.
Plastic Donegal - Recycling Centre Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland Plastics are used to make pipes for the agricultural, civil engineering and construction industries.
Polystyrene Donegal - Recycling Centre Republic of Ireland & Europe Sent to Germany for use in furniture and cars.
Steel Donegal - Recycling Centre Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland Melted down and reused.
Cartons Donegal - Recycling Centre Great Britain Used to make moulded fibre products.
Textiles Donegal - Recycling Centre Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland  Textiles are processed and sent to developing countries.  Those not suitable for reuse are reprocessed into fibres to make new products.
WEEE (Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment) Donegal - Recycling Centre Republic of Ireland Equipment is broken down and sent for further recycling. 
Wood Donegal - Recycling Centre Republic of Ireland Shipped to local recycling operator for reuse into kindling wood and other wood products.
Asbestos

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Landfilled.

Batteries

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Refining and separation of components.

Brass

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Melted down and reused.

Cable

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Recovered for components for reuse.

Cans

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Remade into new cans.

Cardboard

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain 

Remade into new cardboard.

Carpet

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Made into drainage systems.

Chemicals

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Sent for reprocessing.

Copper Pipe

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Melted down and reused.

Fire Extinguishers

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Refilled and reused.

Fluorescent Tubes

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Recovered for components for reuse.

Gas Bottles

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Refilled and reused.

Garden Waste

Conwy - Recycling Centre & Garden Waste Colelction Service 

Great Britain

Composted.

Large Domestic Equipment

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

High-quality recyclates sold for manufacturing into new products or used as aggregate in road construction, new plastic and metal products.

Lead

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Melted down and reused.

Metal

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain Melted down and reused.

Oil

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Converted into biodiesel or treated and made into fuel oil.

Paint 

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Remade into paint or secondary liquid fuel for firing cement kilns.

Paper

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Reprocessed into paper and new paper products.

Plasterboard

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Recycled into new material.

Plastic (Rigid)

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Recycled into car dashboards or pipelines.

Plastic (Soft)

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Recycled into food packaging, non-food containers or bags for life.

Rubble

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Reused as fill sand and pipe bedding.

Textiles

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Textiles are processed and sent to developing countries.  Those not suitable for reuse are reprocessed into fibres to make new products.

Tyres

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Reused for energy.

Waste Electrical Equipment

Conwy - Recycling Centre 

Great Britain

Refurbished or broken down for components or recovered for components for refuse.

Wood Conwy - Recycling Centre Great Britain

Reprocessed into more wood.