Residents Urged to Sort their Waste

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council is asking residents to sort their waste before bringing it to a Household Recycling Centre (HRC).

The Council is currently reviewing its policies for Household Recycling Centres and will be moving to exclude unsorted black bin waste from its centres to reduce waste and achieve statutory recycling targets. Over the coming weeks, Council officials will be on site at the recycling centres to educate and help centre users with their waste disposal.

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Charlie Casey said, “We are very proud to have increased our recycling rate by 6% to 46% in the past 12 months, but we still need to do more.

“Approximately 25% of the waste we process is collected through our 10 HRCs and unfortunately some residents using the centres are not pre-sorting their waste for recycling. This means that valuable recyclable material is being wasted. Recycling saves money and makes a positive contribution to the environment by saving energy and raw materials.

“I would encourage everyone to sort their waste, take a trip to your local centre and recycle it for free.”

A wide range of materials can be recycled at your local HRC. These include green waste, metal, cardboard, plastic (such as garden furniture and children’s toys), wood, paper, glass bottles and jars, domestic appliances (such as washing machines and cookers), electrical goods (hair dryers, TVs and irons), fluorescent tubes and batteries (both car and household).

Residents using the centres are asked to sort all their waste at home into recyclable and non-recyclable materials. Once in the centre, staff will be on hand to direct them to the correct recycling container. The Council hopes this new step will reduce the amount of waste disposed by at least 1000 tonnes per year.

For the full list of materials that you can recycle and to find more about your local Household Recycling Centre, please visit the Council’s website www.newrymournedown.org/hrc or telephone 0300 013 2233.