Social enterprise Bryson Recycling has announced plans to introduce a new recycling collection service for inner city Belfast this year on behalf of the city council, which it hopes will double the amount collected.
The news comes after Bryson announced plans to trial a new doorstep collection system in Northern Ireland earlier this year.
Under the new contract, Bryson will provide new recycling services to around 55,000 homes, offering residents a weekly kerbside box and separate food waste collection.
The contract forms one of five major recycling contracts launched by Bryson in the last year, with others in Donegal and Wales, as well as Northern Ireland.
Bryson has also helped develop a new collection vehicle and container that will maximise the quantity of materials collected from households, resulting in 35 new Romaquip Kerb-Sort vehicles on the roads this year.
Largest individual waste contract
Commenting on the new service, Eric Randall, Director of Bryson Recycling said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Belfast City Council to introduce this new recycling service which will be our largest individual council contract. This will be the first time that this approach to our service has been introduced in Northern Ireland on a wide scale. Where it has been implemented in other UK council areas it has resulted in high levels of recycling and significant cost savings; we expect to see the amount we collect for recycling from inner city Belfast double as a result of this new service.
“Our company has won a significant number of new contracts during the last year and we are looking forward to working with all our local authority partners to deliver high quality services that will achieve excellent recycling results at a low cost. At Bryson we put quality at the centre of everything we do; we focus on ensuring the materials we collect for recycling are of a high enough quality to be recycled locally; 35 per cent of the materials we collect are recycled in Northern Ireland with over 80 per cent staying in the UK. Bryson uses this approach as it benefits the local economy and helps to support over 1,000 local jobs”.
According to Bryson, the new contract in Belfast is expected to create 25 local jobs.
Bryson Recycling is part of the Bryson Charitable Group, a social enterprise in Northern Ireland. It currently processes 60 per cent of recyclables collected from households in Northern Ireland.
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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.