New waste management policies come in from today which mean that all plastic packaging, including soft plastics, can be put in your recycling bin at home.
This means that waste collection companies are required to take these plastics, but it's up to households to make sure the waste material is “clean, dry and loose."
What is soft plastic?
It's defined as anything that can be scrunched up in your hand. So this includes crisp bags, sweet wrappers, bread wrappers and plastic film that covers products such as processed meat etc.
In 2017, it was prohibited to put these type of plastics into your recycling bin, due to high levels of contamination.
However, today's announcement reverses this rule and is part of an upgrade of Ireland's recycling capacity. The changes come about as part of EU requirements to curb plastic pollution and reach new recycling targets by 2030.
Our record in Ireland
We lag behind our European counterparts when it comes to recycling plastic waste - only a third of it currently goes into our 'Green' bins.
The government has committed to increasing this rate to 50% by 2025 and 55% by 2030.
You can find out more on the Repak website.
