Whitehead residents to get reward points for recycling

L-R: The Deputy Mayor, Cllr Andrew Wilson, Tony McGurk, founder of Cryptocycle, Eric Randall, Bryson director, Minister Edwin Poots, Dee and Jackie Wright, owners of the Whitehead Spar and Philip Thompson, MEA director of Operations.

Reward4Waste is believed to be the first app of its kind in Northern Ireland and will be trialled across 2,000 households for an eight-week period exclusively in the seaside town.

Bryson Recycling has teamed up with CryptoCycle, founders of Reward4Waste, and Mid and East Antrim Borough Council to help find a simple and effective way for people to return single use packaging ahead of new recycling laws to bring in a deposit return scheme.

The trial will cover items packed in single use packaging, purchased at Spar on Edward Road, Whitehead, including plastic drinks bottles, cans, plastic milk bottles and glass wine bottles. Each participating item will have a unique sticker which residents simply scan into the Reward4Waste app at point of recycling to get their reward points.

Claire McCallum, Bryson Recycle, Rachel Warrn, Cryptocycle, Rosa Knox, Bryson and Catherine Hunter, MEA.

Residents will be rewarded 10 or 20 points every time they recycle a participating item, with 100 points being worth £1.

During the trial, which is supported by Britvic, PepsiCo and Encirc, price points on participating items will remain as usual (so will not go up) meaning that people will get rewarded for their recycling.

The collected points can be redeemed as vouchers (to be used at the store) or donated to a choice of three charities – Hope House, Whitehead Primary School PTA or Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful.

Mr Poots said: “Trials of new ideas and technologies that aim to boost our recycling rates and tackle litter are very welcome. I’m particularly heartened by the collaborative approach taken in this pilot.

Jackie Wright, owner of Whitehead Spar,with the phone app.

“It’s great to see businesses from different parts of the value chain working together, from retailers to recyclers. I’m consulting on the detail of a statutory deposit return scheme for bottles and cans early next year. I look forward to seeing the results of this trial fed into that formal process.”

The launch was also attended by the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Andrew Wilson; Sian Young, head of People & Planet, Britvic; Fiacre O’Donnell, director of Sustainability, Encirc; Jackie Wright, Spar owner and representatives from Bryson Recycling and CryptoCycle.

Cllr Wilson, said: “We really appreciate how well the residents of Mid and East Antrim are recycling already – and this new app will reward them for doing so.

“By ensuring the different materials are recycled across the borough, we can recycle even more, save money and help the environment.

Sarah Collins, Peter Doherty and Sian Young from Britvic.

“These simple changes may not seem like a lot individually but if everyone made a small change and became more aware, we could collectively make a massive difference.”

Mr Wright said: “This is a great opportunity for local people in Whitehead to get rewarded for recycling items purchased at our shop. Not only does the help the environment it also benefits our community”.

The communication campaign uses people from Whitehead and can be seen on banners and posters across the town.

Eric Randall, Bryson Recycling, said: “We are excited to be part of the Reward4Waste trial in Whitehead. At Bryson Recycling we pride ourselves on finding innovative ways to encourage people to recycle the right way.

“We focus on collecting high-quality materials through our kerbside box service, meaning they can be recycled locally, which is better for the environment, our local economy and creates jobs. Over 85% of the materials we collect are recycled here in Northern Ireland. I hope you enjoy taking part in the trial - let’s revolutionise recycling.”

Sian Young, Britvic, commented: “We are hugely proud at Britvic Ireland to be supporting the Reward4Waste initiative. We believe that our packaging should never become waste and making the recycling process as easy as possible is at the heart of that mission.”

For full details, see www.reward4waste.com

Read previous Mid and East Antrim recycling story here

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