The second phase of Dublin’s #CircleCity campaign to double number of recycling bins and encourage the public to recycle plastic bottles and aluminium cans in the city centre was recently launched in the capital.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alison Gilliland, and the Minister of State for the Circular Economy Ossian Smyth TD joined environmental charity Hubbub (supported by The Coca-Cola Foundation) to announce the expansion of the on-street recycling initiative in Dublin’s city centre, in collaboration with Dublin City Council.

The campaign was first launched in October 2020 to build a culture of ‘on-the-go recycling’, with 25 brightly coloured recycling bins installed on Grafton Street and Henry Street during the first phase of the campaign.

A recent audit on the performance of the first phase of the campaign found that 83% of plastic bottles and cans in the areas covered by the recycling initiative end up in the recycling bins, as opposed to the general waste. The overall quantity of plastic bottles and cans being recycled through the new bins has more than doubled since the launch.

Dublin City Council’s waste management operations reviewed and changed work practices to allow the different waste streams to be created and for segregation to become possible. It’s expected that 48,180 plastic bottles and 38,870 cans, which may otherwise end up in landfill, will be recycled each year.

The campaign is supported and delivered by Voice Ireland, the RPS Group and DublinTown (the city centre’s business improvement agency). Campaign details will be updated through #CircleCity hashtag on Twitter, Instagram and the #CircleCity Facebook Page.