Recycling Rewards to plant seeds of hope with new Charity Partner

A unique recycling partnership, which involves over 170,000 households across Northern Ireland could provide vital support for a local charity and also highlight the importance of recycling according to leading Social Enterprise, Bryson Recycling.

The ‘Recycling Rewards’, now in its second year, is aiming to raise £15,000 for its chosen local charity and households are encouraged to recycle as much as they can to boost recycling levels, which will help drive the local economy and sustain employment all in aid of a very worthwhile cause.

Bryson Recycling partners with three local businesses- Encirc in Fermanagh, Cherry Plastics in Dungannon and Huhtamaki in Lurgan.

 For every tonne of glass, paper and plastic collected through Bryson Recycling’s kerbside boxes, £1 will be donated to a local charity. Funds raised over the next year will be donated to PIPS (Public Initiative for Prevention of Suicide and Self Harm), who provide a range of suicide prevention and bereavement support services across Northern Ireland. In the three months alone, PIPS has supported over 1600 people through their counselling service.

Eric Randall Director at Bryson Recycling said; “We are delighted to be co-ordinating this initiative, it’s an excellent example of how a social enterprise can operate.  Bryson currently process recyclables collected from around 60% of households in Northern Ireland and we recognise the importance of ensuring a quality supply of materials are supplied to local companies for them to make end products locally.

“Through this campaign we hope to plant a seed in people’s minds that recycling more will have a positive impact not just in our environment and economy but in our local communities as well. We are proud to support PIPS as their vital work in the community has the potential to save someone’s life as well as providing support to families that have been affected by suicide or addiction. We look forward to developing our partnership with PIPS throughout the campaign, raising awareness of such an important issue.”

The ‘Recycling Rewards’ campaign is aiming to collect 15,000 tonnes of recycled material and the money raised will help PIPS continue its important work throughout Northern Ireland.

Bryson Recycling sends the paper, plastic and glass they collect in their kerbside box areas to the three campaign partners. Cherry Pipes, Encirc and Huhtamaki who all reprocess materials collected from Bryson Recycling on a weekly basis and work with well-known brands such as McDonalds, Bushmills and Baileys to provide quality products worldwide, including plastic pipes, glass bottles and egg boxes.  

Cherry Pipes transform plastics into pipes for the agricultural, civil engineering and construction industries at their sites in Crumlin, Lurgan and Dungannon. Glass is sent to Encirc in Derrylin, which is turned into bottles for food and drinks companies. Huhtamaki in Lurgan (Ltd) is the world leader in environmentally friendly moulded fibre packaging, using 100% recycled raw materials located on the island of Ireland and they are the sustainable choice for high quality egg packaging and cup carriers.

Martina McIlkenny, Care Team Manager from PIPS commented on the launch of the campaign; “Suicide rates are on the increase in Northern Ireland and it’s essential that we are able to continue to provide a range of services for those who are contemplating ending their life, have addiction problems or loved ones who have been affected.

“Our work is not government funded so the campaign will help us keep our doors open.  Recycling is something so simple that we all take for granted and do on a daily basis. It’s vital that we are able to educate on understanding of signs of suicide and provide immediate, appropriate services for everyone affected. This partnership is a great approach to recycle unwanted waste and will also give hope and offer new life to many of our users.”

Weekly household collections are carried out a cross five council areas; Antrim & Newtownabbey, Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon, Belfast, Lisburn and Castlereagh and Mid & East Antrim.