Council is ‘Getting Real’ About Recycling For Recycling Week 2022

Now in its eighteenth year, Recycle Week, is the nation’s biggest annual celebration of recycling. This Recycle Week, Recycle Now and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council are ‘Getting Real’, about protecting our environment in the fight against climate change by looking at where we are, where we want to be and how we are all going to get there, together with even better recycling habits.

This year’s campaign which runs from Monday 17 October to Sunday 23 October, will focus on three common questions that many of us have when it comes to recycling: -

• Does my recycling really make a difference?
• One item in the bin can’t hurt, can it?
• Recycling is so confusing, Isn’t it?

Newry, Mourne and Down is an area of recyclers so the next step is to make sure we get our recycling right by reducing contamination in our recycling bins. One of the easiest ways residents can address this issue is by recycling more of the right things, more often. Here are some top tips that residents can do to help us make our recycling even better:

• Your Blue Bin is for dry recycling materials including glass, bottles and jars
• Your Brown Bin is for ALL food waste
• Your Black Bin is for all materials that cannot be recycled
• Remember: Recycling materials MUST NOT be placed in your Black Bin

If residents are unsure about how to recycle a specific item or need more information on recycling materials at home, please visit: www.newrymournedown.org/blue-green-bin

Residents have more questions than ever about their recycling, and Council is supporting Recycle Week by giving people real answers throughout the Week and beyond. We’ll be looking at where we are, where we want to be and how we’re all going to get there, together

Recycle Now will be providing recycling information and insights to answer these questions and clarify that by recycling we really can make a difference. In fact, recycling in the UK saves 18 million tonnes of Co2 a year – all these factors reduce greenhouse gas emissions which lead to climate change.

By getting our recycling right we can also have an impact. One wrong item in the recycling bin from each of us can make whole lorry loads unrecyclable. Recycling doesn’t have to be confusing, Recycle Now and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council are here to help!

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Michael Savage said, “This year we’ve all taken more notice of our impact on the environment and realised that recycling is a key part of reducing that impact. Our latest recycling rates show that more and more of us are recycling, but we could do better! We need to make sure we get our recycling right by reducing contamination in our recycling bins.”

Cllr Savage continued, “I really want to encourage all our residents across the district to look at what they are doing, and ‘Get Real’ about Recycling throughout Recycle Week and beyond, to tackle climate change. One of the easiest ways residents can address this issue is by recycling more of the right things, more often.”

Craig Stephens, Campaign Manager for Recycle Now said, “By recycling even better we can have a big impact on our environment. In Newry, Mourne and Down it’s no different – more and more people are recycling, so the next step is to make sure we get our recycling right. So come on, Newry, Mourne and Down, keep up the great work and let’s make recycling better than ever before!”

To find out more about Recycle Week and to find out what you can and can’t recycle where you live, visit: www.recyclenow.org.uk/RecycleWeek or www.newrymournedown.org/blue-green-bin.