Latest news with #JoLinehan
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- General
- Irish Examiner
Upcycling: How to get wise, get sustainable and get sorted at home
Recently, while the sun shone bright, I spent my days in the garden carefully taking the labels and tape off cardboard boxes before using them as a base to suppress weeds for new no-dig garden borders. This garden hack is not new, but more and more people are digging into the concept of reusing materials in the garden not only for workable DIY solutions but also as a conscious effort to use sustainable and eco-friendly workarounds. In fact, according to new research from Repak, Ireland's environmental not-for-profit organisation, three out of five people have used empty packaging for gardening purposes such as seed-starting, watering, or plant labels. 'There are so many small but impactful things every household can do this summer and beyond,' says sustainability advocate Jo Linehan. 'Reimagining what we regard as waste is always a great place to start. For instance, why not keep the kids busy by making their own bird feeder from an empty plastic bottle? Simply punch holes in the bottle, add a string on top to hang it from a branch in the garden and fill it with birdseed.' CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB Jo Linehan, sustainability journalist and consultant Getting creative with household waste is an all-round win as we keep items out of landfill: For instance, the aforementioned cardboard hack to suppress weeds cutting milk bottles in half and refashioning them as DIY cloches in the vegetable patch using old plastic trays for starting seeds, not forgetting the ingenious hack of using toilet roll tubes as seed pots. Linehan reminds us to remember to leave a bowl of water for birds in your garden, too, as they can get thirsty during summer: 'If you're lucky, you might even see them taking a bath'. 'If you're a big coffee-drinking household, you can save your coffee grounds and add them to your garden plants and flowers. The grounds are rich in nutrients and can boost soil health.' The same goes for crushed eggshells or making your own compost. And if you own a drill and a saw, why not try repurposing pallets into planters. Sustainable and eco-friendly garden options are vast. Every little helps says Linehan who suggest that some of the best sustainable hacks and practices households can manage this summer include collecting rainwater in buckets and basins to water your garden. 'It may sound basic,' she says, 'but our water systems can be under pressure in hot weather. The most important tip is to get outside and enjoy your garden space. The more connected we feel to nature, the more likely we are to look after it.' A GROWING PASSION FOR UPCYCLING Repak research notes a growing national passion for upcycling and a growing confidence among the Irish public when it comes to recycling. 67% of Irish adults rate their recycling knowledge highly. However, the research, carried out around of the launch of Repak's Most Sorted Garden at Bord Bia Bloom recently, also recognises gaps remain around how people recycle. Findings suggest that less than half can correctly identify which bins tinfoil (44%), cosmetic jars (45%) and deodorant cans (50%) should go in, while 71% don't know how to recycle bleach bottles correctly. It's worth noting that Repak has a useful guide highlighting What Goes In My Bin on their website. Some items listed may surprise you. Zoe Kavanagh, CEO of Repak 'Irish people clearly care about sustainability and it's brilliant to see how many are upcycling packaging in creative ways,' says Zoe Kavanagh, Repak CEO. 'However, creativity in the garden needs to be matched with clarity at the bin. By tapping into the public's enthusiasm for upcycling, we want to inspire a national recycling reset. By recycling one more item daily we can make a huge difference and achieve our EU recycling targets.' To help close the gap in consumer knowledge, Repak's Most Sorted Garden, designed by award-winning garden designer James Purdy, welcomed thousands of visitors with hands-on tips and practical inspiration for better recycling habits at home and in the garden. Repak's Most Sorted Garden is a living, breathing showcase of the circular economy in action, to help visitors understand how to recycle better at home. MORE THAN JUST A DISPLAY Pictured at Repak's Most Sorted Garden at Bord Bia Bloom 2025 are Emilia (3) and Ella Bleus (6). For more information, please visit If we do the maths, small changes really add up. If each of the expected 100,000 Bloom visitors recycled one extra clean, dry, and loose item every day of the week, it could mean an extra 36.5 million items avoid being sent to landfill every year. According to Repak, this is enough to cover 28 GAA pitches. Incredibly, if every person in Ireland recycled one extra item a day, it adds up to 1.9 billion items being diverted from landfill every year. Creatively, Repak shares that this is equivalent to 4,000 double-decker buses — 48,362 tonnes of waste. 'Repak's Most Sorted Garden is more than just a display,' says Kavanagh. 'It's a movement. Every element exists within a closed-loop system, where resources are regenerated, materials are repurposed, and nothing goes to waste. We're calling on people to make this small change. Recycle just one more item each day. It starts at Bloom, but the impact can stretch across the nation.' Recycling has almost become second nature for most of us. However, it requires a conscious effort to recycle appropriately (clean, dry, and loose), to choose wisely (avoid single-use plastics and minimise packaging) and to close our knowledge gap of what can be recycled.
RTÉ News
29-05-2025
- General
- RTÉ News
Bloom is set to feature a garden of reimagined waste with Repak
Ahead of their appearance at Bord Bia's Bloom, environmental not-for-profit organisation Repak has shared its latest research, revealing that 67% of Irish adults rate their recycling knowledge highly, but there is still room for improvement, as 71% don't know how to recycle bleach bottles correctly. To help close these knowledge gaps, Repak will host a 'Most Sorted Garden' at Bord Bia Bloom in Dublin's Phoenix Park this Thursday - Monday, welcoming thousands of visitors with hands-on tips and practical inspiration for better recycling habits at home and in the garden. Ahead of Ireland's premier garden festival, we spoke to journalist and sustainability advocate Jo Linehan about the festival and ways in which we can make our homes a little more eco-friendly "The festival itself has so many unbelievable sustainability initiatives," Linehan says of Bloom, noting that coffee grounds from the festival will be donated to OPW for fertilising material; reusable cups and glassware will be available to attendees; and multiple public transport options will be available so cars can be avoided. "Repak have designed a beautiful garden," she adds. "Everything in it will be what we, traditionally, would describe as waste items. They've reimagined so many things that we would throw away or recycle, and featured them as beautiful pieces in the garden." As the host of one of Repak's panel discussions, Linehan hopes that the garden will inspire attendees to open their minds to reusing household items. As it stands, three in five (60%) of people surveyed have used empty packaging for gardening purposes, such as starting seeds, as plant pots, for watering or for creating plant labels. "I think people are so innovative," Linehan says of the findings. "The fact that that many gardeners are thinking that way is amazing." Although the enthusiasm to recycle seems to be there, Linehan says that there is often a "knowledge gap" when it comes to organising our bins. According to the research, less than half of adults can correctly identify which bins tinfoil (44%), cosmetic jars (45%) and deodorant cans (50%) should go in, while 71% don't know how to recycle bleach bottles correctly. So, let's get straight to the answers: Tinfoil is recyclable as long as it is clean, dry, and loose. Cosmetic jars are recyclable as long as they are clean, dry and loose. Empty glass jars can be placed in the glass recycling bin, while plastic jars are typically recyclable with other plastics in the green / recycling bin at home. Deodorant cans can not be recycled as they are aerosols. Bleach & household cleaning bottles are recyclable as long as they are clean, dry and loose. This means you should rinse them to remove any residue, ensure they are completely dry, and place them loosely in the bin, without any bags, and with the lid on. As well as hosting a panel discussion featuring Repak Members Ballymaloe Foods, Britvic Ireland, Coca Cola HBC, Homestore and More, Lidl Ireland and Musgrave to explore the future of recycling, Linehan will be speaking across the weekend on topics including sustainable fashion and sustainable beauty. Over the five days of the festival, the journalist hopes to inspire optimistic, creative, and exciting conversations surrounding sustainability in Ireland. "We hear so much about the negatives of what's happening to the environment, but we never really hear about the amazing things," she muses. "It's lovely to shine a light on the things that are really good." When it comes to simple and effective ways to improve household recycling, Jo says to follow these four tips: Print out recycling guides and stick them on the fridge or above the bin. Every household is entitled to a brown compost bin - if you don't have one, get in touch with your bin supplier or apartment management. Add coffee grounds to the plants in your garden. Make a bird feeder from an empty plastic bottle - you can find handy tutorials on YouTube. "It can be a really overwhelming thing to say you're going to be more sustainable," she admits. "It's really difficult to do, so if the only thing you did was up your recycling a bit or get that compost bin and start using it, that would be massive." In fact, according to Repak, if every Bloom visitor decided to recycle one more item per day, it would result in 36.5 million more items diverted from landfill - the equivalent of 28 GAA pitches.
