European Week for Waste Reduction

European Week for Waste Reduction 2011 was a huge success, not only in Belfast but all across Europe.

This year thousands of actions were carried out:
  • 7,035 in 32 countries
  • 374 in Northern Ireland
  • 130 in Belfast City Council area.
Actions included:
  • promoting double-sided printing
  • encouraging people to use reusable cups at cafés
  • making jewellery from scraps of fabric, and
  • collecting coats for distribution to homeless people.
The projects in Belfast this year were diverse and interesting. All of them will help reduce the amount of waste that is sent to landfill and many of them can help save money too.

We organised waste reduction projects that included:
  • a seminar on resource efficiency for local businesses
  • Sew Crafty - an event that taught members of the public how to reduce waste at home by revamping their old furniture and textiles
  • a book swap called 'Pass it On', and
  • a staff initiative encouraging people to donate bras for women in Africa.
We also collected coats for distribution to local homeless people, in partnership with 19 churches and faith groups across the city. Approximately 2,000 coats were collected from congregations all over the city and donated to The Welcome Organisation's drop-in centre in St Peter's Square North. This amount of coats equates to approximately two tonnes of waste diverted from landfill and given to a worthy cause.

The Welcome Organisation said: "The stock will last us most of the year and our storerooms have gone from being empty to full! We rely heavily on public donations but with the option now for people to cash in your unwanted clothes our stock is very limited."

Thanks to everyone who signed up to European Week for Waste Reduction 2011.

For more information about European Week for Waste Reduction, or to send your stories and photos of your projects, email wasteeducation@belfastcity.gov.uk

European Week for Waste Reduction 2011 – NI Awards

Following our work during EWWR we have won an award for our 'Show your support' bra collection campaign. The initiative aimed to raise awareness about the importance of recycling textiles and also helped raise money for the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology at Queen's. Bras from Belfast and beyond were collected and sent to Africa where they can be reused by local women. Bras and other clothes can be recycled throughout the year by taking them to any recycling centre or textile bank. The initiative won in the Public Authority category at the awards which were funded by the DoE's Rethink Waste campaign.