Ards North Down to trial bins at Ward Park in Bangor and bowling alleys
Ards and North Down Borough Council offices, Newtownards(Image: Justin Kernoghan/Belfast Live)
A Northern Ireland council is to erect public recycling street bins for the very first time.
Elected representatives at Ards and North Down Borough Council this week agreed to trial recycling litter bins at selected spots in the borough, after councillors admitted its lack of public recycling street bins sent out a “poor message”.
Councillors at the March meeting of the local authority’s Environment Committee this week approved a trial in the borough called “Recycling on the Go.” The £45K trial will commence later in the year for six months, and will focus on plastic drinks bottles and metal drinks cans at Ward Park in Bangor and at bowling greens owned by the council.
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A Notice of Motion was agreed at the Environment Committee last summer stating the council was “pleased” with the recycling rates for waste that had been achieved in the borough, but admitted there were “limited” facilities to recycle litter. The motion stated: “This sends out a poor message to our residents and visitors”.
The council resolved to have a trial designed to “extend recycling opportunities to residents and visitors of Ards and North Down’s public parks and to measure the effectiveness of the scheme infrastructure, communications, and user satisfaction.”
A budget of £45,000 has been set aside for the pilot. This includes £15K for new recycling bins and £30K revenue for communications, operations, and project evaluation.
The official’s report on the trial proposal states: “We propose a phased introduction of new recycling bins, with a pilot exercise in Ward Park and council-managed bowling greens. The containers will be co-located with litter bins in areas of high footfall so that visitors can dispose of rubbish and recycling conveniently at one location.”
It adds: “The scheme will target two key materials streams: plastic drinks bottles and metal drinks cans. These two material streams are recyclable at the kerbside and commonly used by people when out and about.”
It states: “A recent successful pilot by Belfast City Council and environmental charity, Hubbub, found that the recycling comprised almost 50 percent by weight of target material. The trial found that contamination levels were low enough that the recycling could be sent for reprocessing.
“The Ards and North Down pilot will follow the same approach as the Belfast pilot. It will ensure that the containers are clearly labelled with both materials iconography and wording to make targeted recyclable materials clear. This will reduce confusion and contamination.”
DUP Councillor Alistair Cathcart said at the committee meeting: “The key question is whether this will work, and unfortunately when they have been trailed before they havent worked. It is interesting that Belfast has had positive results, which is encouraging.
“I think that starting in the parks is the best thing, and hopefully the behaviour will change around it. The reports show people recycle well at the kerbside, and in their own homes.
“But obviously there are consequences at home: they will not get their bins collected (otherwise). There are no consequences to this (trial), but hopefully changing behaviour and messaging (will get through) that it saves money, as well as being good for the environment.”
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