£16k support for suicide prevention charity from recycling campaign

Bryson Recycling’s ‘Recycling Rewards’ drive has resulted in 16,000 tonnes of materials being recycled locally and £16k will be donated to PIPS charity as a result.

PIPS delivers suicide prevention and bereavement support services, counselling and therapies throughout Northern Ireland. This funding boost will enable services to continue.

Bryson provides a kerbside box collection to 170,000 homes and for every tonne of paper, plastic and glass collected over the last year, reprocessing partners, Huhtamaki, Cherry Plastics and Encirc have all donated £1 to the charity.

Eric Randall, director at Bryson Recycling, said: “Recycling Rewards is now in its third year and is going from strength to strength. The amount raised this year has been the biggest to date and we are encouraged to see how communities can come together to support others and help the environment at the same time.

“PIPS charity provide vital support to individuals and families who have been affected by addiction issues and suicide. Suicide prevention is a hugely important issue that desperately needs more funding and the Recycling Rewards campaign has given us the opportunity to do this.”

Recent research indicates that Northern Ireland is facing a suicide epidemic and as the charity sector continually faces huge pressure to deliver important services to users, this support comes at a critical time.

Desy Jones, from PIPS, commented: “Recycling Rewards funding will in reality keep our doors open. Without contributions such as this- we cannot operate, as we are not government funded.

“Thanks to all the households and partners who have come on board to raise awareness for such an important issue through something so simple that we do every day in our homes.

“Suicide is a growing issue affecting every community here and we are committed to providing a range of services to those who need it most. This support will allow us to provide more than 400 hours every month in counselling, deal effectively with any crises cases instantly, offer support to friends and family affected and also help us educate people more on mental health, the signs to look out for and early intervention.”

Weekly household collections are carried out across five council areas including Antrim and Newtownabbey and Mid and East Antrim.