Belfast City Council Scoops Excellence Award

Belfast City Council has received an excellence award in recognition of achieving a 40% recycling rate, its highest yet.

The Sustainable Ireland Awards took place at the Ramada Hotel on Wednesday night with council receiving the Council Award for Excellence in Waste Management on the night.

According to the citation, the award went to "the district, city or borough council or group of councils that can show/demonstrate improvement in recycling and landfill diversion. The winner will have introduced initiatives that have resulted in increased recycling rates, financial savings or both, they will have demonstrated their commitment to recycling through staff training and/or other practical means,and will have implemented educational or awareness programmes that encourage young people, home owners and businesses within their area to recycle and re-use."

Councillor Steven Corr, chairman of the council’s Health and Environmental Services Committee, said: "I'm delighted that the hard work of council, and indeed our ratepayers, has been recognised with this very prestigious award.

"We have made significant strides in driving up the city’s recycling rate in recent years and we have now reached the 40% mark, meaning we are well on course to achieve our 45% recycling target for 2014-15."

In a report to the council's Health and Environmental Services Committee this week, it was pointed out that Belfast is ranked first in its benchmarking group with other comparable cities including Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Sheffield and Nottingham.

(CD/IT)