Recycling at Council-run events

As part of the Council's Roadmap to Sustainability, the Events team made a commitment to improve sustainability at Events.  One of the key target areas was Waste Management and Recycling. 

During June - September 2023, at Council-run events including Sea Bangor, Comber Earlies, Pipe Band Championships and Tide & Turf, the Events team, alongside staff from Waste, introduced supervised recycling stations. 

By discouraging the use of general waste bins and directing the public to specific recycling points, alongside encouraging traders who take part to use compostable materials and avoid Single Use Plastics, this initiative successfully diverted waste from landfill.

Initial figures from this trial period showed a massive 9.8 tonnes of waste were collected, of which 98.2% was able to be recycled. 

This marks a massive increase in the amount of recyclable waste being diverted from landfill at Council events. Prior to the new recycling stations being introduced, on-site bins were usually contaminated, resulting in most of the waste ending up in landfill.   

The Events  and Waste teams have continued to operate manned recycling stations and other recycling initiatives at Council-run events.The data below shows the continued success of this project: 

New and improved recycling stations will be operating at all future Council-run events - making the centres more easily identifiable.  There are also branded uniforms for team members.