A lot of waste goes into our bins, but checking how much you pay certainly isn't a waste of time.

As the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite across the country, Newstalk is here to help with a new online series highlighting the best ways to save on your bills.

Cut-the-Cost offers tips and advice on how to save on everything from your phone bill and energy costs, to modern essentials such as broadband.

This week we're taking a deep dive into some of the best bin collection offers around Ireland.

While some of these only operate within a specific areas, several of them service large chunks of the country, such as those found in Dublin.

City Bin

City Standard

• €19.90 Per Month
• 1x 42 Kg Per Month General
• 1x 50 Kg Per Month Organic
• Charge Per Kilo Extra: €0.30

City Light

• €14.99 Per Month
• 1x 25 Kg General
• 1x 25 Kg Organic
• 1x 25 Kg Recycling
• Charge Per Kilo Extra: €0.20

City Plus

• €23.99 Per Month
• 1x 60 Kg General
• 1x 60 Kg Organic
• 1x 60 Kg Recycling
• Charge Per Kilo Extra: €0.20

Thorntons Recycling

Eco Band Lite

• €15.75 Per Month
• Collections twice per week of general, compost and recycling waste
• Charge Per Kilo Extra: €0.25 per kg over 25kg per month
• Two Months upfront payment of €31.50 required

Eco Band

• €18.99 Per Month
• Collections twice per week of general, compost and recycling waste
• Charge Per Kilo Extra: €0.25 per kg over 40kg per month
• Two months upfront payment of €37.98 required

Greyhound Recycling

Standard Plan

• €19.99/month for first six months, €24.50 after six months
• Household: 1-3 people
• Black Bin: 42kg /month
• Recycling: Free
• Organic: Free

Family Plan

• €21.99 for first six months, €26.50 after six months
• Household: 3-5 people
• Black Bin: 52kg /month
• Recycling: Free
• Organic: Free

Family Plus Plan

• €23.99 for first six months, €28.50 after six months
• Household: 5+ people
• Black Bin: 75kg /month
• Recycling: Free
• Organic: Free

Panda

Panda prices and services vary by county and area.

As a base comparison, it generally offers two bands of services.

1-3 Household

• €26.00 Per Month
• Recycling allowance: Unlimited
• Compost allowance: Unlimited

4+ Household

• €29.00 Per Month
• Recycling allowance: Unlimited
• Compost allowance: Unlimited

Panda waste collection services are available in every county except: Cavan, Clare, Kerry, Longford, Monaghan and Offaly.

Bord na Mona

Standard service

The bins in this package are charged at a set monthly amount throughout the duration of the 12-month contract.

140 L

• Yearly Price: €282.00
• General Waste Limit: 500 Kg
• Charge Per Kilo Extra: €0.12

240 L

• Yearly Price: €306.00
• General Waste Limit: 850 Kg
• Charge Per Kilo Extra: €0.12

360 L

• Yearly Price: €564.00
• General Waste Limit: 1000 Kg
• Charge Per Kilo Extra: €0.12

Bord na Mona also offers a Pay by Weight (35c per kg for general waste) or Pay by Lift  €10.00 per lift for general waste) option.

Clean Ireland (Mid-West)

• €154.82 for six months (€10 discount if you sign up for Direct Debit)
• General Waste Limit: 240 Ltr
• Includes 360 ltr recycling bin as standard

After a billing term, your lift weight is evaluated and you are placed into the appropriate lift band

Wiser Bins (Cork/Waterford)

240 L

• €27.75 per month, €83.25 every three months, or €166.50 every six months
• General Waste Limit: 240 L
• Includes general, recycling, food and glass bins

240 L

• € 27.75 per month, €83.25 every three months, or €166.5 every six months
• General Waste Limit: 240 L
• Includes general, recycling and food bins (where available)

360 L

• €46.66 per month, €139.98 every three months, or €279.96 every six months
• General Waste Limit: 360 L
• Includes general and recycling bins

The same companies also offer their services to commercial customers.

You may be able to reduce your bills even more by signing up for an online account, choosing paperless billing or paying for your year's service upfront.

How do you choose?

That really depends on what you need and your budget.

While all of these bin collection suppliers offer similar basic services, the ins and outs of package details, pricing, and quality may differ between them.

When trying to choose the right service provider for your home, it is worth keeping these points in mind:

• Which companies operate within my area?
• How often do they collect the bins?
• What type of plan suits my needs: standard, pay by lift, or pay by weight?
• What volume of waste do I output and what bin size should I choose?

Local councils such as Dublin City Council or the environment agency may also list which suppliers are active within their area, so be sure to check these sources also.

Recycling and placing items in compost bins will also help to lower general costs, especially if they are paid by weight.

Some operators collect different types of waste on different days.

In most cases, different coloured bins relate to these waste types:

• Brown bins for green waste and food waste
• Green bins for recyclable items
• Black or grey bins for residual waste

If you are unsure, check directly with your waste collector to find out what should go in each bin.

How to reduce waste

Recycling and composting are two easy ways to reduce waste and save money.

If you don't opt for a recycling collection service, you can take it to bring centres, civic amenity sites or recycling centres.

Some recycling centres charge a small entry fee, and for disposing of large amounts of waste or large individual items.

You can check the waste disposal facilities in your area at repak.ie

'Getting a better deal'

Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) Director of Communications, Grainne Griffin, said they have been calling for changes in this area for many years.

"Essentially, it needs to work better for consumers," she said.

"Collecting household waste is a very complicated business, it's a very expensive business to start up in, and many waste collection businesses tend to only operate in certain areas.

"That means that for consumers they often have little or no choice when it comes to shopping around to get a better deal.

"It's not that necessarily having lots of companies working in the same area is the solution... the practicalities of waste collection mean that that actually could be quite inefficient.

"For example running a competitive process to elect a single provider who treats consumers well; that could be the best solution in some cases.

"It's because of complexities like that that we really believe there should be a state regulator for waste collection who could ensure the market works more efficiently.

"We're very glad to see that there's a new National Waste Management Plan in development... but it's a very important for consumers to know that bin collection is a service.

"It's covered by consumer protection laws, and they need to get what they pay for," she added.