Mid and East Antrim supports Recycle Week 2020

The theme for this year’s Recycle Week is ‘Thanking the nation: ‘Together - We Recycle’, thanking residents for continuing to recycle despite all that has happened this year.

Statistics released by Recycle Now show that through lockdown the UK has become even more environmentally aware, with nearly 9 in 10 households saying they ‘regularly recycle’.

Coming out of lockdown, more people are prepared to change their lifestyles to help the environment: 73%, up from 68% in 2019. Meanwhile, an amazing 93% of UK households say they believe that ‘everyone has a responsibility to help towards cleaning up the environment’.

The figures come from research carried out during lockdown and an omnibus survey completed in July.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is encouraging residents to keep up their excellent work. Mayor, Councillor Peter Johnston said: “This year’s Recycling Week has a theme of ‘thanks’ so it’s the perfect time to reflect on the crucial role our refuse teams have played over the past few months.

“During the period of lockdown when our civic amenity sites had to close and we couldn’t access them, our staff carried on working tirelessly. When everything else slowed down, they kept going to ensure that services continued to be delivered and as a Borough we continued to recycle. Their efforts and hard work are very much appreciated.

“It’s encouraging to read that 9 in 10 UK households recycle regularly and Bryson House have revealed that NI recycling has increased by approximately 20% during lockdown.

“It’s also reassuring to know that as a Borough we have met and surpassed our European target of 50% by 2020, with MEA currently on a recycling rate of 55.36% for April – June 2020. Our next target is 55% by 2025, so we all need to work hard together to achieve this. I am also pleased that composting has increased this April – June 2020 (38%) compared to April -June 2019 (36%), perhaps due to more of us staying at home, more of us baking and gardening, generating more waste for composting.

“I’d like to thanks all residents of Mid and East Antrim for carrying on recycling regardless of the challenges we’ve faced. Despite everything that’s happened, there’s still one small but powerful act we can do to make a positive change on the world around us. If we all continue to play our part and work together, by recycling more items, more often - we can make our Borough and our planet a healthier place.”