Residents told to 'keep up the good work' as recycling rates increase

The latest local figures were released to the Times this week after Environment Minister Edwin Poots announced that domestic waste recycling rates have increased across Northern Ireland.

According to Newtownabbey Council, more and more householders are backing efforts to reduce the amount to waste going to landfill by using their brown bins, blue bins, kerbie boxes and food caddies.

Reflecting on the latest statistics, the council’s Director of Environmental Services, Hugh Kelly, commented: “The figures are very encouraging and demonstrate the council’s continued commitment to reducing landfill waste. The 2008/09 recycling figure was 34.98 per cent and in the first six months of this financial year this jumped up to 40.09 per cent and as a result landfill amounts have decreased from 65.02 per cent to 59.77 per cent - a reduction of over 5 per cent.

“I would like to thank our residents who are making the effort to recycle as much as possible. We still have a long way to go so I would ask everyone to keep up the good work.”

The council’s red box recycling service, delivered by Bryson Recycling, has been operating throughout the borough since 2005. In April 2008 the box collection service was changed from fortnightly to weekly and the council also introduced an alternate week refuse and garden waste bin collection at the same time.

Last year more than 3,150 tonnes of materials were collected for recycling through the kerbie box service in the Newtownabbey area, including 14 million plastic bottles, three million steel cans and three million aluminium cans. Between April 2009 and June 2009 more recyclables were collected per household in Newtownabbey than any other area in the arc21 region.

Eric Randall, Director at Bryson Recycling, added: “The current recycling levels being achieved are extremely encouraging and demonstrate the commitment of local residents and the effective partnership between Newtownabbey Borough Council and Bryson Recycling in trying to improve recycling levels across the borough.”

The government’s latest quarterly figures show that across Northern Ireland households are now recycling more waste than ever before (39 per cent), exceeding targets for the second consecutive quarter in 2009.

East Antrim MLA and UUP Environment spokesman Roy Beggs described the increase in recycling as “a step in the right direction.”

“Recycling is an important factor in conserving natural resources and greatly contributes towards improving the environment, and so the fact that it is becoming more of a social norm is very welcome.

“That being said, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. Conserving our limited resources must be a clear priority, right down to reducing, through improved packaging and minimisation, the amount of waste that is produced in the first place.

“The recycling buck can’t stop with homes - shops, factories and offices have a clear responsibility to play their part,” he said.

For further information about recycling log on to www.newtownabbey.gov.uk or www.brysonrecycling.co.uk