NI recycling gets another £2m
Northern Ireland is to receive £2 million funding in an attempt to reduce the country’s waste and increase recycling and reuse. The news of the new cash injection brings the total amount of funding available for such schemes this year to over £6 million.
The money has been provided out of the Rethink Waste fund of NI’s Department of Environment. Speaking about the third round of funding, environment minister Edwin Poots said the move shows that properly handled waste can be a great asset to the economy in Northern Ireland. He added that recycling levels have increased greatly over the years but he still feels that more can be done.
The Rethink Waste project plans to divert around 28,500 tonnes of rubbish from landfill sites each year. Around 41 Northern Irish schemes were offered funding through the first two rounds this year. The money can be used to improve amenities at recycling centres or to spend on capital coast such as new bins or collections vehicles.
So far, the country has seen the introduction of brown bins for garden and food waste, plus compactors for centres and roll-on-roll-off skips. Recent figures reveal that NI is currently recycling around 35 per cent of household waste, but this must be increased to 50 per cent by 2020 under EU rules.
Source: http://www.recycle.co.uk/news/2801000.html
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