Think about how and what you recycle, urges Mid Ulster Council

Now in its eighteenth year, Recycle Week, is the nation’s biggest annual celebration of recycling.

With people asking more questions than ever about their recycling, including, ‘does my recycling really make a difference?’, ‘one item in the bin can’t hurt, can it?’, and ‘recycling is so confusing, isn’t it?’, and the council will be using Recycle Week to address and answer these commonly asked questions.

The public is being encouraged that by getting recycling right they can also have an impact. One wrong item in the recycling bin from each person can make whole lorry loads unrecyclable.

For example, never dispose of nappies, food waste, containers that still have food residue or bottles that still contain liquids, in the blue bin. Garden and food waste should be recycled in your brown bin and never disposed of in your general waste bin.

Recycle more plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays from all around the home as well as metal tins / cans, paper/card and glass bottles and jars. All these items should be recycled in your blue bins and should be presented clean, dry and loose to ensure maximum recycling can be achieved.

Chair of the Council’s Environment Committee, Councillor Sean McGuigan, is encouraging Mid Ulster residents to make real efforts to continue with, and even increase, their recycling efforts.

"Mid Ulster has consistently achieved the highest recycling rates year after year which proves how committed our residents are to recycling and to protecting the environment where they live. However, there is still more we can do,” he encouraged.

"We should continue to use our blue bins for our recyclable items and our brown bins for our garden and food waste. Our black bins should only ever be used for items that cannot be recycled. Remember to take larger or more bulky items like electricals, furniture and wood to your nearest recycling centre. Unwanted clothing and footwear can also be taken to one of the recycling centres or donated to charity.”