DAERA Minister Andrew Muir with Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Councillor Neil Kelly
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Minister Andrew Muir has announced £2.6 million funding for Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.
The funding received through the Household Waste Recycling Collaborative Change Programme will allow the Council to extend its weekly recycling service to approximately 24,000 residents in the wider Antrim area and introduce a new glass kerbside collection service.
The Council has matched this funding to deliver a £5.2m investment into a robust recycling system, using wheelie boxes for collection from each household.
This will enable almost 80% of the recyclables to remain locally for reprocessing and divert more waste away from landfill. This system will not only create local jobs and support the local manufacturing industry, but the diversion of more waste from landfill will help to; reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce landfill costs to the ratepayer, maximise the economic value of waste and help Northern Ireland achieve Net Zero by 2050.
Commenting on the funding Minister Muir said:
“Waste is increasingly being viewed as a valuable resource with the potential to make a significant contribution to the Northern Ireland economy as well as helping our environment. I am delighted to be able to award £2.6 million to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council for this.
“Whilst much progress has been made by the Councils in terms of recycling I am convinced that more can be done and I want to ensure Northern Ireland achieves high levels in both quantity and quality of recycling with more recycling staying local and less waste going to landfill.”
Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Councillor Neil Kelly welcomed the funding:
“I am delighted to see this significant investment being made in our waste services. As the top recycling Council in Northern Ireland, we currently recycle approximately 60% of our household waste, which is a fantastic achievement by the residents of Antrim and Newtownabbey.
“This investment means we will further boost local recycling, keeping local jobs and harmonising the service for residents in the wider Antrim area. Sending waste to landfill costs significantly more than recycling it, and with disposal costs increasing year on year, we need to shift the focus from landfill to recycling to benefit the environment, our economy and reduce costs.”
The Mayor continued:
“The change for residents in the wider Antrim area will be the addition of a new glass collection service from the kerbside through the provision of a wheelie box which will be collected every week.
“The service will also include textile recycling and will be open to adding more materials in the future.
“Residents will also be provided with a smaller black bin, this combination has been working successfully in Newtownabbey for several years. By collecting recycling materials in this way, we can ensure high quality materials are collected which can be recycled locally which in turn helps the local economy.
“We look forward to introducing this new recycling service in the wider Antrim area in summer 2025 and hope to see local recycling figures increase even further in the near future.”