NEWS


Recyclers get £5M funding boost in Northern Ireland


Environment Minister Edwin Poots has announced further funding to boost recycling rates across Northern Ireland, bring- ing the total amount awarded in grants to over £5M this year. The Minister announced £2.83M of capital funding for 16 successful projects from the first round of the Rethink Waste Fund, and has earmarked anoth- er £2.3M for other recycling ini- tiatives. It is estimated that the 16 projects alone will divert 12,000 tonnes of waste from landfill each year.


The projects include initia- tives from North West Region Waste Management Group, North Down Borough Council, Ards Borough Council, Ballymena Borough Council, Omagh District Council, Dungannon & South Tyrone BC, Cookstown Borough Council, Lisburn City Council, Belfast City Council and Antrim Borough Council.


During his announcement, the Minister said: “Waste is an extremely valuable resource and we can no longer afford to ignore


West Limerick landfill for sale


L-R: Minister Edwin Poots with the mayor of Lisburn Paul Porter and Cllr James Tinsley, chairman of Lisburn City Council’s environmental services committee


this value. The fact that £5M has been secured for recycling in the current financial climate demonstrates that waste is a very important asset for the Northern Ireland economy. “The 16 recipients named today have been successful because they have identified how to divert waste from land- fill and ultimately save ratepay- ers money. This is not only good for the economy, but has tenvi- ronmental benefits.”


He continued: “I am also con-


sidering the potential for a sec- ond round of funding, in this financial year. Whilst some councils have not been success- ful this time around, some of their work and ideas may form the basis of successful future bids.


“I would therefore urge coun- cils to begin to review any unsuccessful applications for the first round of funding and consider how they would approach any future funding round.”


Five-year WEEE milestone success


Ireland has diverted over 180,000 tonnes of household WEEE items from landfill since the directive came into force five years ago.


Nearly 42M household WEEE items have been collected to date, including 9.6M units of small consumer equipment, with a collection rate of over 9kg per inhabitant. In terms of recycling figures, this includes 547,000 fridges and freezers, 3.8M large household appli- ances, and 1M televisions.


Hard drive: computer recycling Environment Minister John


Gormley said: “There was no shortage of negative comment and general nay saying when we set out on this journey to imple- mentation in Ireland.


II Local Authority Waste & Recycling October 2010


“Nor was there any shortage of critics who told us it couldn’t be done. Well, the figures speak for themselves and are testa- ment to the importance that Irish people place on protecting our environment.”


The Minister went on to com- pliment all of the stakeholders involved, the two producer com- pliance schemes ERP Ireland and WEEE Ireland, along with the National WEEE Register, the retail sector, local authorities and the public.


Private refuse collection compa- nies are reportedly queuing up to acquire a huge county coun- cil-owned landfill site in west Limerick. Having taken sound- ings, the council is expected to put the 80-acre site up for sale before the end of the year. The site at Gortadroma is licensed to take in 130,000tpa of waste. While most landfills around the country have seen a major drop in waste intake, Gortadroma is expected to take in 110,000 tonness this year – 5,000 tons more than 2009. It will generate up to €5.5M in revenue for the council. An added attraction to poten- tial buyers is the 1MW generator on site that generates electricity from methane gas given off by the compressed waste. Six major private waste disposal compa- nies are believed have indicated their interest in acquiring the Gortadroma landfill.


Skip hire firm waste pledge


County Antrim based McKinstry Skip Hire is looking to move its operations towards zero landfill by signing up to WRAP’s ‘Halving waste to land- fill’ initiative. Ten years ago, McKinstry was sending around 90% of its waste to landfill – now the company is recycling 85% of all materials received in its yard. In signing the commitment, McKinstry has pledged to increase its recy- cling rate further to 95% in 2012.


A family-run business, McKinstry employs 60 staff at its head office in Crumlin, County Antrim. In 2008, it com- pleted the building of a modern recycling facility.


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