Free paper for top recycling schools

Every time a school’s paper bank is emptied, the school will receive a free box of recycled paper at the end of the school year. This year, the council has handed out over 200 boxes of paper in recognition of paper recycling efforts by schools.

During the past school year, local schools prevented 163 tonnes of paper from going to landfill. This represents a significant increase of 26 per cent on the previous year and resulted in 2,774 trees being saved.

Chair of the Environmental Services Committee, Councillor Cassie McDermott recently visited St. Colman’s Primary School, Annaclone - one of the district’s top schools for recycling paper - to personally thank the principal, teachers and pupils for making a huge effort to divert this significant waste stream from landfill.

“Paper is the main form of waste created by schools, making up at least a quarter of all its rubbish. St. Colman’s is just one of the district’s many schools that are to be commended for pro-actively trying to recycle paper,” said Ms McDermott.

Council Temporary Environmental Education Officer Therese Hamill explains the environmental benefits of recycling paper waste. She said, “Every tonne of paper recycled saves 17 trees from being cut down. Furthermore, 70 per cent less energy is needed to recycle used paper compared to making new paper from raw materials.

“Offering free paper as an incentive is a win-win situation for everyone involved in this initiative - the schools, the environment and the council.”

Keen to remind local people about the importance of paper recycling at home, she said, “All paper should be recycled in the kerbside box, and should never be placed in the black bin as this ends up in landfill and takes a long time to decompose. Landfilling paper also produces methane which is a harmful greenhouse gas.”

Last year, a total of 1,410 tonnes of paper was recycled in the Banbridge District. The majority of this paper was taken to Huhtamaki in Lurgan and recycled into egg boxes and some was also sent elsewhere to be recycled into new paper and newspapers.

To find out more about paper recycling, contact the Council’s Temporary Environmental Education Officer on 4066 0604.