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Household Environmental Behaviours - Waste and Recycling 2024

Data

CSO statistical release, 11 July 2025, 11am

Datasets related to this release

HEBA01: Households' main method for disposing of non-recyclable household waste by sex of respondent
HEBA12: Households' main method for disposing of recyclable household waste by nature of occupancy
HEBA23: Households' usual method for disposing of food waste by number of occupants
HEBA34: Households' usual method for disposing of garden waste by number of children
HEBA45: Households' experience of noise pollution by dwelling type
HEBA56: Homes that have been tested for radon by period of construction date of dwelling
HEBA67: Households who tested for radon whose radon levels were above the reference level by NUTS 3 region
HEBA79: Households that receive or buy used clothes, electronic equipment,, or used furniture by Urban/Rural
HEBA80: Households where secondhand clothing items were bought/received as a private gift, donation or swap by age group of respondent
HEBA81: Households where secondhand clothing items bought in a secondhand shop or marketplace (e.g. charity shop, vintage store, flea market) by working status of the respondent

Tables in relation to the questions asked in the survey

Table 1: Households' main method for disposing of NON-RECYCLABLE household waste (e.g. heavily soiled food packaging), 2024

Table 1: Households' main method for disposing of NON-RECYCLABLE household waste (e.g. heavily soiled food packaging), 2024¹
% of weighted households
Demographic	Wheelie bin collection service	Bring it to a recycling centre that accepts it	Share bin with a neighbour, relative or friend	Pre-paid bag collection service	Bring it to work	Not sure/don't know	Bring it to a Pay-to-Use unit at a petrol station or similar location	Other
State	80	10	5	2	1	1	0	1

Sex of respondent
Female	80	11	5	2	0	1	1	2
Male	81	9	5	2	2	1	0	1

Nature of occupancy
Owner-occupied	82	11	4	1	1	0	1	1
Rented	75	7	7	4	2	2	0	2
Other	80	12	7	1	0	0	0	0

Number of occupants
1 occupant	70	13	9	5	1	0	1	2
2 occupants	76	12	6	3	1	0	1	2
3 occupants	83	9	3	1	1	2	0	2
4 occupants	83	8	4	1	2	0	0	1
5 or more occupants	92	6	2	0	0	0	0	1

Number of children
1 person under 18 years	78	8	6	2	2	1	0	2
2 persons under 18 years	89	7	3	1	0	0	0	1
3 or more persons under 18 years	92	5	2	0	1	0	0	1

Dwelling type
Detached house	78	14	4	1	1	0	1	1
Flat/apartment in a purpose-built block	64	5	17	3	0	4	0	8
Semi-detached house	90	7	2	0	1	0	0	0
Terraced house	83	6	4	6	0	1	0	1
Other	(55)	(6)	(10)	(10)	(18)	(1)	(0)	(0)

Construction date
1961-1980	86	8	3	1	0	1	0	1
1981-2000	83	10	3	2	1	0	0	1
2001 or later	79	9	6	1	1	1	0	2
Before 1961	74	12	5	4	2	0	1	1
Unknown construction period	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..

Region
Border	78	16	5	0	1	0	0	0
Dublin	81	6	5	5	0	1	0	2
Mid-East	88	6	3	0	2	1	0	1
Mid-West	81	8	7	1	1	1	1	0
Midlands	77	16	2	0	1	0	1	2
South-East	76	13	7	0	0	0	2	2
South-West	79	14	3	2	0	2	0	0
West	77	11	5	2	3	0	0	2

Urban/Rural	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rural	72	17	5	2	1	0	1	2
Urban	85	6	4	2	1	1	0	1

Age group of respondent
17-34 years	79	5	7	3	2	1	0	3
35-44 years	84	8	4	1	1	2	0	1
45 to 54 years	83	8	5	2	0	0	0	1
55 to 64 years	78	14	4	1	1	0	1	1
65 years or over	77	15	3	2	0	0	1	1

Working status of respondent
Looking after home/family	88	8	2	0	1	0	0	0
Retired from employment	77	15	4	3	0	0	1	1
Working for payment or profit	81	9	5	2	1	1	0	1
Other	78	8	5	3	2	1	0	2
¹Please note data may not add to 100% due to rounding issues
() Figures in parentheses indicate percentages based on small numbers and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error
.. Sample occurrence too small for estimation

Open in Excel: Household Environmental Behaviours - Waste and Recycling 2024 Table 1 (XLS 15KB)

Table 2: Households' main method for disposing of RECYCLABLE household waste (e.g. paper and cardboard packaging), 2024

Table 2: Households' main method for disposing of RECYCLABLE household waste (e.g. paper and cardboard packaging), 2024¹
% of weighted households
Demographic	Recyclables wheelie bin collection service	Bring it to a recycling centre	Share recyclables bin with a neighbour, relative or friend	Recyclables pre-paid bag collection service	Do not recycle	Bring it to work	Not sure/don't know	Other
State	79	12	4	2	1	0	0	1

Sex of respondent
Female	80	13	4	1	1	0	0	1
Male	79	12	4	2	1	1	1	1

Nature of occupancy
Owner-occupied	82	13	3	1	0	0	0	1
Rented	74	9	7	4	2	1	1	2
Other	74	15	7	2	3	0	0	0

Number of occupants
1 occupant	67	19	7	4	1	0	0	1
2 occupants	74	15	5	3	1	1	0	2
3 occupants	83	8	3	0	2	0	2	2
4 occupants	83	11	4	1	1	0	0	1
5 or more occupants	91	7	1	0	0	0	0	0

Number of children
1 person under 18 years	77	11	5	1	3	0	1	1
2 persons under 18 years	89	7	3	0	0	0	0	1
3 or more persons under 18 years	93	5	1	0	0	1	0	0

Dwelling type
Detached house	76	18	3	1	1	0	0	1
Flat/apartment in a purpose-built block	63	3	16	3	5	0	3	7
Semi-detached house	89	8	2	0	1	0	0	0
Terraced house	83	9	3	4	0	0	0	0
Other	(55)	(22)	(10)	(10)	(0)	(3)	(0)	(0)

Construction date
1961-1980	85	11	3	1	0	0	0	1
1981-2000	81	12	3	2	1	0	0	0
2001 or later	80	9	5	1	1	0	1	2
Before 1961	72	19	4	4	1	1	0	1
Unknown construction period	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..

Region
Border	73	23	1	0	1	1	0	0
Dublin	82	6	5	4	1	0	1	2
Mid-East	86	9	3	1	1	0	0	1
Mid-West	79	12	7	0	0	1	1	1
Midlands	71	21	2	0	2	1	0	2
South-East	76	16	6	1	0	0	0	1
South-West	78	15	2	2	2	0	1	1
West	79	11	5	2	1	0	0	2

Urban/Rural
Rural	71	21	4	2	1	0	0	1
Urban	84	8	4	1	1	0	1	1

Age group of respondent
17-34 years	79	8	6	3	2	0	0	2
35-44 years	84	7	3	1	2	0	1	1
45 to 54 years	82	12	4	1	0	0	0	1
55 to 64 years	76	18	3	1	0	1	0	1
65 years or over	77	18	3	2	0	0	0	1

Working status of respondent
Looking after home/family	85	9	2	0	3	1	0	1
Retired from employment	76	18	2	2	1	0	0	1
Working for payment or profit	81	11	4	1	1	0	1	1
Other	77	11	5	3	2	0	0	2
¹Please note data may not add to 100% due to rounding issues
() Figures in parentheses indicate percentages based on small numbers and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error
.. Sample occurrence too small for estimation

Open in Excel: Household Environmental Behaviours - Waste and Recycling 2024 Table 2 (XLS 15KB)

Table 3: Households' usual method of disposing of FOOD WASTE (including raw or cooked, edible or inedible parts of food), 2024

Table 3: Households' usual method of disposing of FOOD WASTE (including raw or cooked, edible or inedible parts of food), 2024¹
% of weighted households
Demographic	Put it in the organic (brown) bin for collection	Put it in the general (residual) waste bin for collection	Compost it at home	Feed it to animals	Bring it to a recycling centre	Not sure/don't know	Other
State	52	22	13	9	2	1	1

Sex of respondent
Female	52	23	13	9	2	1	1
Male	52	21	13	10	2	1	1

Nature of occupancy
Owner-occupied	55	18	14	10	2	0	1
Rented	46	32	9	9	1	2	2
Other	49	23	19	6	3	0	0

Number of occupants
1 occupant	44	24	16	12	3	0	1
2 occupants	50	21	17	8	3	1	2
3 occupants	56	24	11	5	1	2	2
4 occupants	54	24	10	9	2	2	0
5 or more occupants	56	17	10	15	1	0	0

Number of children
1 person under 18 years	52	21	14	8	2	2	1
2 persons under 18 years	50	25	8	16	1	0	1
3 or more persons under 18 years	57	23	7	10	2	0	0

Dwelling type
Detached house	41	20	19	15	3	0	1
Flat/apartment in a purpose-built block	41	49	2	2	0	3	3
Semi-detached house	67	16	9	5	2	0	1
Terraced house	63	21	9	4	1	1	1
Other	(36)	(33)	(7)	(4)	(5)	(15)	(0)

Construction date
1961-1980	65	12	11	8	2	0	1
1981-2000	55	23	10	8	3	0	1
2001 or later	48	27	10	10	2	1	2
Before 1961	44	20	23	10	1	2	1
Unknown construction period	..	..	..	..	..	..	..

Region	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Border	30	30	16	19	5	0	1
Dublin	66	22	7	2	1	1	1
Mid-East	58	22	12	5	2	0	1
Mid-West	55	14	15	12	3	1	1
Midlands	38	31	11	16	2	0	3
South-East	41	20	21	16	2	0	1
South-West	52	20	14	9	3	2	1
West	43	22	18	13	1	3	1

Urban/Rural
Rural	31	22	23	19	4	0	1
Urban	64	22	7	4	1	1	1

Age group of respondent
17-34 years	48	27	11	10	1	2	1
35-44 years	57	23	9	7	1	1	1
45 to 54 years	50	25	10	11	2	1	1
55 to 64 years	54	19	13	9	4	0	1
65 years or over	52	14	21	9	4	0	1

Working status of respondent
Looking after home/family	60	24	6	7	2	0	1
Retired from employment	50	17	22	6	5	0	1
Working for payment or profit	52	23	11	10	2	1	1
Other	52	22	11	10	1	2	1
¹Please note data may not add to 100% due to rounding issues
() Figures in parentheses indicate percentages based on small numbers and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error
.. Sample occurrence too small for estimation

Open in Excel: Household Environmental Behaviours - Waste and Recycling 2024 Table 3 (XLS 14KB)

Table 4: Households' usual method for the disposal of GARDEN WASTE (e.g. grass, plants and garden clippings), 2024

Table 4: Households usual method for the disposal of GARDEN WASTE (e.g. grass, plants and garden clippings), 2024¹
% of weighted households
Demographic	Put it in the organic (brown) bin for collection	Compost it at home	Not relevant	Bring it to a recycling centre	Put it in the general (residual) waste bin for collection	Not sure/don't know	Other
State	37	37	11	5	5	1	4

Sex of respondent
Female	37	36	11	5	6	2	4
Male	36	39	12	4	4	1	4

Nature of occupancy
Owner-occupied	39	41	5	5	4	1	4
Rented	31	28	25	2	8	3	3
Other	32	33	18	4	5	2	5

Number of occupants
1 occupant	32	30	18	6	9	1	4
2 occupants	34	39	12	6	4	0	4
3 occupants	43	32	12	3	4	2	4
4 occupants	38	40	8	3	4	2	5
5 or more occupants	38	43	7	3	4	2	4

Number of children
1 person under 18 years	35	37	14	4	4	2	4
2 persons under 18 years	40	35	9	3	6	2	5
3 or more persons under 18 years	39	42	6	2	2	5	4

Dwelling type
Detached house	22	59	6	3	3	1	6
Flat/apartment in a purpose-built block	18	11	52	1	11	5	3
Semi-detached house	57	25	4	5	5	1	3
Terraced house	54	16	11	8	8	2	2
Other	(19)	(26)	(46)	(2)	(6)	(0)	(2)

Construction date
1961-1980	49	29	7	9	2	2	3
1981-2000	37	37	10	4	5	1	5
2001 or later	32	37	15	3	7	1	5
Before 1961	32	48	9	5	4	1	2
Unknown construction period	..	..	..	..	..	..	..

Region
Border	10	56	16	2	7	3	5
Dublin	55	13	17	8	5	1	2
Mid-East	49	34	5	3	4	1	4
Mid-West	21	56	8	5	4	2	4
Midlands	35	38	5	5	9	1	8
South-East	31	47	9	5	5	1	3
South-West	31	46	9	3	4	2	5
West	30	48	12	1	4	0	5

Urban/Rural
Rural	10	67	10	2	4	1	7
Urban	52	21	12	6	6	2	2

Age group of respondent
17-34 years	34	33	21	1	6	2	3
35-44 years	42	32	12	2	3	3	5
45 to 54 years	39	41	7	4	5	1	4
55 to 64 years	37	39	8	7	5	0	4
65 years or over	33	42	7	9	5	0	4

Working status of respondent
Looking after home/family	43	29	9	6	5	6	3
Retired from employment	31	43	9	9	5	0	3
Working for payment or profit	39	37	10	4	5	1	5
Other	35	37	16	2	5	2	3
¹Please note data may not add to 100% due to rounding issues
() Figures in parentheses indicate percentages based on small numbers and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error
.. Sample occurrence too small for estimation

Open in Excel: Household Environmental Behaviours - Waste and Recycling 2024 Table 4 (XLS 13KB)

Table 5: Households' experience any of noise pollution sufficient to cause irritation, 2024

Table 5: Households' experience any of noise pollution sufficient to cause irritation, 2024¹
% of weighted households
Demographic	None of the above	Road traffic	Dogs	Neighbouring houses	Airplanes	Industrial	Trains	Hospitality sector	Other
State	62	18	14	10	7	2	2	1	4

Sex of respondent	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Female	60	20	15	12	6	2	2	1	4
Male	64	17	13	9	7	2	2	1	3

Nature of occupancy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Owner-occupied	63	18	14	9	7	1	2	1	3
Rented	51	27	17	20	6	3	3	2	4
Other	65	18	10	11	3	1	3	2	4

Number of occupants	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1 occupant	68	15	9	9	5	2	2	1	4
2 occupants	65	18	13	9	5	1	1	1	3
3 occupants	59	20	18	12	7	2	2	2	4
4 occupants	57	20	17	12	10	2	3	1	4
5 or more occupants	62	20	14	10	7	2	3	1	3

Number of children	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1 person under 18 years	54	21	19	13	8	3	3	1	4
2 persons under 18 years	56	20	17	13	10	2	3	1	4
3 or more persons under 18 years	68	16	12	9	5	2	2	1	2

Dwelling type	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Detached house	70	17	11	4	4	1	1	1	3
Flat/apartment in a purpose-built block	46	32	10	22	7	4	6	3	9
Semi-detached house	57	17	18	15	9	1	2	1	3
Terraced house	53	23	18	16	9	2	3	2	4
Other	(50)	(33)	(14)	(11)	(8)	(3)	(6)	(11)	(6)

Construction date	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1961-1980	63	18	12	9	10	1	1	1	4
1981-2000	64	16	16	11	7	1	2	1	3
2001 or later	62	17	15	13	6	2	3	1	3
Before 1961	59	24	13	8	5	2	3	2	5
Unknown construction period	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..

Region	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Border	73	18	10	9	2	1	0	1	1
Dublin	54	21	15	14	12	2	3	1	5
Mid-East	62	17	16	10	8	1	3	1	2
Mid-West	69	18	12	8	3	1	1	1	2
Midlands	67	16	15	9	1	1	2	1	2
South-East	65	18	15	9	1	2	0	1	2
South-West	65	19	13	8	6	2	1	1	3
West	67	16	13	9	1	2	2	1	4

Urban/Rural	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rural	71	16	10	5	3	1	1	0	3
Urban	57	20	16	13	8	2	3	1	4

Age group of respondent	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17-34 years	42	30	27	19	12	3	6	1	4
35-44 years	55	24	15	16	9	2	4	1	4
45 to 54 years	58	19	16	14	7	2	2	1	4
55 to 64 years	67	16	12	7	5	1	1	1	3
65 years or over	72	14	9	4	5	1	1	1	3

Working status of respondent	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Looking after home/family	58	19	18	13	7	3	1	0	4
Retired from employment	73	14	8	4	5	1	1	1	2
Working for payment or profit	61	19	15	11	7	2	2	1	4
Other	51	25	21	17	9	2	4	2	5
¹Please note data may not add to 100% due to rounding issues
() Figures in parentheses indicate percentages based on small numbers and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error
.. Sample occurrence too small for estimation

Open in Excel: Household Environmental Behaviours - Waste and Recycling 2024 Table 5 (XLS 13KB)

Table 6: Homes that have been tested for radon, 2024

Table 7: Households who tested for radon whose radon levels were above the reference level of 200Bq/m3, 2024

Table 8: Households who receive or buy used clothes, electronic equipment, or used furniture, 2024

Table 9: Number of secondhand clothing items bought/received as a private gift, donation or swap, 2024

Table 10: Number of secondhand clothing items bought in a secondhand shop or marketplace (e.g. charity shop, vintage store, flea market), 2024

Table 11: Number of secondhand clothing items bought through an online platform, 2024

Table 12: Number of secondhand textiles other than clothing bought/received as a private gift, donation or swap, 2024

Table 13: Number of secondhand textiles other than clothing bought in a secondhand shop or marketplace (e.g. charity shop, vintage store, flea market), 2024

Table 14: Number of secondhand textiles other than clothing bought through an online platform, 2024

Table 15: Number of secondhand small electronic items bought/received as a private gift, donation or swap, 2024

Table 16: Number of secondhand small electronic items bought in a secondhand shop or marketplace (e.g. charity shop, vintage store, flea market), 2024

Table 17: Number of secondhand small electronic items bought through an online platform, 2024

Table 18: Number of secondhand large electronic items bought/received as a private gift, donation or swap, 2024

Table 19: Number of secondhand large electronic items bought in a secondhand shop or marketplace (e.g. charity shop, vintage store, flea market), 2024

Table 20: Number of secondhand large electronic items bought through an online platform, 2024

Table 21: Number of secondhand small furniture items bought/received as a private gift, donation or swap, 2024

Table 22: Number of secondhand small furniture items bought in a secondhand shop or marketplace (e.g. charity shop, vintage store, flea market), 2024

Table 23: Number of secondhand small furniture items bought through an online platform, 2024

Table 24: Number of secondhand large furniture items bought/received as a private gift, donation or swap, 2024

Table 25: Number of secondhand large furniture items bought in a secondhand shop or marketplace (e.g. charity shop, vintage store, flea market), 2024

Table 26: Number of secondhand large furniture items bought through an online platform, 2024

Table 27: Number of secondhand construction materials items bought/received as a private gift, donation or swap, 2024

Table 28: Number of secondhand construction materials items bought in a secondhand shop or marketplace (e.g. charity shop, vintage store, flea market), 2024

Table 29: Number of secondhand construction materials items bought through an online platform, 2024

Table 30: Number of other secondhand items bought/received as a private gift, donation or swap, 2024

Table 31: Number of other secondhand items bought in a secondhand shop or marketplace (e.g. charity shop, vintage store, flea market), 2024

Table 32: Number of other secondhand items bought through an online platform, 2024

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Table 8: Households who receive or buy used clothes, electronic equipment, or used furniture, 2024¹
% of weighted households
Used items aquisition	1-10 items	11-50 items	50+ items	None
Clothing
Private gift/donation/swap	9	25	3	63
Secondhand purchase	7	22	3	69
Online purchase	4	13	2	81

Textiles
Private gift/donation/swap	3	6	1	92
Secondhand purchase	1	3	0	95
Online purchase	1	1	0	98

Small electronics
Private gift/donation/swap	9	7	0	84
Secondhand purchase	4	4	0	92
Online purchase	5	5	0	90

Large electronics
Private gift/donation/swap	6	1	0	92
Secondhand purchase	1	1	0	98
Online purchase	2	1	0	98

Small furniture
Private gift/donation/swap	8	9	1	82
Secondhand purchase	4	5	0	91
Online purchase	2	3	0	95

Large furniture
Private gift/donation/swap	5	2	0	93
Secondhand purchase	2	1	0	97
Online purchase	2	1	0	97

Construction materials
Private gift/donation/swap	3	4	0	92
Secondhand purchase	1	1	0	98
Online purchase	1	1	0	98

Other reuse
Private gift/donation/swap	5	6	1	89
Secondhand purchase	2	4	1	93
Online purchase	2	3	1	95
¹Please note data may not add to 100% due to rounding issues

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Household Environmental Behaviours - Waste and Recycling 2024

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Table 7: Households who tested for radon whose radon levels were above the reference level of 200Bq/m³, 2024¹
% of weighted households that have been tested for radon
Demographic	No	Yes
State	91	9

Sex of respondent
Female	90	10
Male	90	10

Nature of occupancy
Owner-occupied	91	9
Rented	86	14
Other	100	0

Number of occupants
1 occupant	97	3
2 occupants	88	12
3 occupants	82	18
4 occupants	97	3
5 or more occupants	90	10

Number of children
1 person under 18 years	85	15
2 persons under 18 years	93	7
3 or more persons under 18 years	89	11

Dwelling type
Detached house	90	10
Flat/apartment in a purpose-built block	66	34
Semi-detached house	96	4
Terraced house	95	5
Other	100	0

Construction date
1961-1980	90	10
1981-2000	91	9
2001 or later	91	9
Before 1961	89	11
Unknown construction period	..	..

Region
Border	76	24
Dublin	95	5
Mid-East	95	5
Mid-West	96	4
Midlands	96	4
South-East	94	6
South-West	89	11
West	91	9

Urban/Rural
Rural	91	9
Urban	89	11

Age group of respondent
17-34 years	83	17
35-44 years	88	12
45 to 54 years	95	5
55 to 64 years	94	6
65 years or over	88	12

Working status of respondent
Looking after home/family	63	37
Retired from employment	86	14
Working for payment or profit	94	6
Other	95	5
¹Please note data may not add to 100% due to rounding issues
.. Sample occurrence too small for estimation