Huhtamaki ‘Rewards’ Children’s Charity in new Recycling Campaign

Lurgan-based global packaging giant Huhtamaki has joined forces with Bryson Recycling and five local councils for a brand new recycling scheme which aims to significantly boost local recycling rates while raising much-needed funds for charity.

The ‘Recycling Rewards’ initiative is encouraging households to recycle more paper through Bryson’s kerbside box service. Huhtamaki Lurgan, which is the main supplier to the UK and Ireland retailers and to McDonald’s, reprocesses the ‘waste’ paper into valued molded fibre egg cartons, trays and cup carriers.

Once used, the packaging can be collected through the kerbside box system or home composted.  Huhtamaki is donating £1 for every tonne of paper collected through the campaign to the Children’s Heartbeat Trust.

The scheme will run across the five council areas in which the Bryson kerbside box service operates – Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council, Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council, Belfast City Council, Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council and Mid & East Antrim Borough Council.

Residents can use their kerbside boxes to recycle a wide range of paper items, including newspapers, magazines, brochures, greeting cards and shredded paper. All paper collected through the service is then sent from Bryson Recycling to Huhtamaki Lurgan, where it is processed to make egg cartons, trays and cup carriers.

Jeff Kearon, Logistics Manager at Huhtamaki Lurgan, which is in its 80th year, said:

“We are delighted to partner Bryson Recycling and the local councils for a new scheme which provides an excellent opportunity to encourage residents to separate their recycling materials into the kerbside boxes - whilst supporting a worthy cause.

“The paper collected through the kerbside box system is ideal for reprocessing as it contains minimal amounts of unwanted plastics and other contaminants typically found in mixed collection systems.

“Huhtamaki has a strong history of successful partnerships with charities and has worked with Bryson Recycling on previous campaigns to support the local economy and promote recycling, which is crucial for companies like ourselves.

”Eric Randall, Director at Bryson Recycling, which is part of the Bryson Charitable Group, Northern Ireland’s leading social enterprise, said:

“Recycling Rewards is an important campaign and a fantastic opportunity to boost local recycling rates as well as raise awareness of our kerbside box service, which is available to over 170,000 households throughout Northern Ireland.

“By collecting recycling using kerbside boxes we can ensure that materials are of a high quality and can be recycled locally, which helps to create jobs and support the local economy.

“We really want to encourage households to do their bit for the environment and help support a local charity which provides fantastic support to children and their families through its work at the Royal Belfast Hospital.”

Alderman Arnold Hatch, Chair of the Environmental Services Committee at Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council, said:

“We currently recycle over 52% of our household waste which is a fantastic achievement for the people of the borough but we need to boost local recycling even more. We hope that local residents support this campaign and make the extra effort to recycle as much as they can in their kerbside boxes over the next year.”

"We are extremely grateful to be supported by Huhtamaki and Bryson Recycling through this new recycling initiative.  Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect in Northern Ireland with on average, 200 children born per year with one or more conditions.  The money raised from the recycling initiative will help us to provide practical and emotional support to these children and their families.