Council secure almost £200k funding for Household Recycling Centres

by Gráinne Connolly

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has secured £186,200 funding which means an additional 365 tonnes can be recycled each year.

WRAP NI commissioned a review of Northern Ireland’s Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) network in June 2018 in order to identify improvements which could be made to increase recycling performance.

It was recommended that sites, including Waveney Road and Sullatober within Mid and East Antrim, could benefit from improvements.

In January, DAERA released funding for capital works to enable Mid and East Antrim to proceed with some of the recommendations.

Council applied and it has been confirmed that they will receive £186,200 towards equipment.

This will include two compactors, four compacting containers, a roll packer, open containers, signage and four bodycams.

Chair of the Operational Committee, Councillor Mark McKinty, said: “Our citizens have to be commended for their incredible recycling efforts and this approval for funding will only add to our already impressive figures.

“Recycling saves ratepayers’ money and also combats environmental damage.

“It costs twice as much to dispose of food waste in a black bin as it does to recycle food waste from a brown bin.

“Unwanted food that ends up in landfill is the most polluting type of waste due to the release of harmful gases.

“Rather than pollute the environment, that waste is increasingly being put to a great use in Mid and East Antrim.”

Following implementation of the new equipment on sites, it is anticipated that the HRC’s recycling rate will increase by 1.5% in year one.

This equates to an additional 365 tonnes being recycled per year, saving £15,000/year from landfill diversion and £13,000/year in fuel savings.