What’s in our bins? Green Week Event reveals the reality of Re‑turn bin usage at TU Dublin
To close out Green Week, Student Volunteering Coordinator Claire Flannery organised a hands‑on event last Thursday, 12 March examining the current condition of the Re‑turn bins located across the Grangegorman campus.
During the event, student volunteers emptied and audited the contents of three Re‑turn bins, documenting their findings to help raise awareness about the importance of using these bins correctly. The best photos taken during the audit will receive a cash prize.
The results were quite alarming. Among the items found were banana skins, napkins, disposable coffee cups, batteries and cigarette boxes—none of which belong in Re‑turn bins.
These findings highlight a clear need for improved communication and awareness about the purpose of the Re‑turn initiative. It is especially important to remember that Re‑turn bins are emptied by student volunteers, who bring the materials to local shops and redeem them for donations to charities of their choice. Only empty cans and plastic bottles should be placed in these bins. Misuse not only creates an unpleasant experience for volunteers but can also make correctly placed items unsuitable for recycling.
So next time you spot one of the orange Re‑turn bins, keep it simple: empty cans and plastic bottles only!
A big thank you to all volunteers involved in the Re‑turn scheme at TU Dublin, to Claire Flannery for organising the waste audit, and to the volunteers who took part in the event: Zhong Hui Lai, Mani Makhija, Princess Madukwe, Likun Fang, Tannie Winnie, Ari Carmody and Ruán Murgatroyd.
This waste‑audit event was supported by the Sustainability Team through the Green Week micro‑grant.
The return of the bottles and cans collected from the event bins generated €93.70, which will be donated to charity.
Photo by Ruán Murgatroyd.