30 October 2024

Keep Recycling Local Campaign – Northern Ireland [Case Study]

Did you know that Northern Ireland sends over 91,000 tons of recyclable materials, including glass packaging, around the globe for recycling each year? This prompted the establishment of the “Keep Recycling Local” campaign.

 

The “Keep Recycling Local” campaign in Northern Ireland aims to reduce the export of recyclables by improving the quality of locally collected materials, especially glass, so they can be reprocessed by local businesses. Led by Enva, Encirc, and Bryson Recycling, with support from environmental advocates, this initiative focuses on establishing a three-stream recycling system to separate glass, plastics, and paper. This approach would replace the current “co-mingled” collection system, which often leads to contamination and reduces the recyclability of materials, resulting in costly exports to distant locations.

 

The campaign highlights that local companies such as Encirc, based in County Fermanagh, must import glass from abroad due to contamination in locally collected materials. The three-stream system is expected to provide high-quality recyclables for reprocessing by Northern Irish companies, supporting the local circular economy and reducing carbon emissions. Furthermore, this change could lower costs for councils and benefit local industries, as cleanly sorted materials can be directly reused to manufacture new products within the region​.

 

In the case study vide, Nicola Carruthers, spokesperson for Keep Recycling Local, highlighted their mission through a three-step solution: collect key materials separately, change legislation to incentivize local reprocessing, and increase public access to information about recycling end destinations. To learn more how this three-step solution is about to be achieved, find the case study video below.