Why recycling matters

Recycling rates in Belfast

We are now recycling around 42 per cent of our waste in Belfast. Instead of going to landfill, it is being recycled and reused again and again, creating jobs locally, saving important resources and reducing harmful carbon emissions.

All that sorting, rinsing and crushing, going the extra mile to check whether something can be recycled – it all pays off.

By recycling, you’re supporting our city to be more sustainable, and if you don’t recycle yet, now’s the time to start.

Whether it’s creating more space in your household waste bin, passing on things you no longer need to a new home or creating opportunities for businesses and social enterprises to turn old items into new products, recycling works!

Building a circular economy

Our recycling efforts not only help reduce environmental impact and save money, but also support the local economy by creating jobs. The city operates several recycling centres and partners with local recycling companies such as Natural World Products, Enva, and Cherry Pipes, which process thousands of tonnes of waste. 

These operations require a workforce for collection, sorting, processing, and logistics, contributing to employment in the waste management and recycling sector. Overall, Belfast’s approach to recycling promotes sustainability while also generating economic and job opportunities in the region. 

You can find recycling data for Belfast on My Recycling NI (link opens in new window). 

We have a ‘linear economy’, where materials are taken from the environment and used to make products. We then use those products and then we dispose of them. This linear, take-make-use-dispose system creates a pattern of consumption, production and waste that the planet cannot sustain.

A circular economy is a more sustainable and alternative economic system than the linear economy. It minimises waste and pollution and uses fewer resources and energy by reducing waste and keeping products, parts and materials in use. It is not just recycling, but includes repairing, reusing and returning products, for example returning bottles to be refilled.

In the circular economy, the amount produced and consumed is reduced. Waste is reduced and the use of products is maximised before they go back into the system to be used again, minimising waste.

Recycling is a big improvement in the linear economy and is a first step towards a circular economy.

How do we achieve a circular economy?

Moving to a circular economy will be a gradual change. It means switching some jobs from extracting raw materials, making new products and disposal, to maintaining, repairing and recycling. Circular economies can sustain more jobs than linear economies as these processes are harder to automate.

A circular economy can:

• reduce the total usage of goods and materials
• optimise the usage of goods and materials from sustainable sources
• optimise production
• reduce overall levels of waste
• reduce pollution
• optimise levels of recycling
• increase numbers of jobs.

Circular economy examples

Circular economy approaches and solutions have always existed and there are many examples, locally and at home, including:

• using cloth nappies rather than disposable nappies 
• donating your old laptop to our Reuse IT scheme at Ormeau Recycling Centre
• bringing your old spectacles to a recycling centre so they can be sent for reuse
• donating to and buying clothes from charity shops
• buying good-quality items that last longer or that are repairable
• buying and selling pre-loved items, for example using Gumtree or eBay
• borrowing from libraries
• school uniform reuse schemes.

Circular economy organisations

There are more and more examples of organisations and schemes in Belfast that work using the circular economy model. These include:

• Repair Café Belfast (link opens in new window) - Skilled volunteers give up their time to fix broken items for free at planned events in different locations across the city. As well as keeping items in circulation the Repair Café gives an opportunity for social connection and learning new skills. Over 1,000 items were fixed in the first two years at 16 events.
• Belfast Tool Library (link opens in new window) – The Belfast Tool Library is a not-for-profit organisation and allows people borrow tools they may only need once or twice. All of the tools have been donated to the library. Members save money, space and have access to hundreds of different tools for a low annual membership fee.
• Play Resource Belfast (link opens in new window) – Play Resource collects non-toxic waste materials from industry. Members like schools, community groups and charities have access to these materials to use for art and craft activities.
• FareShare NI (link opens in new window) – As part of the larger FareShare organisation, they collect surplus food from industry and shops and redistribute it to charities that are providing meals to vulnerable and disadvantaged people and groups.

If you are interested in moving your organisation or company towards a more circular way of working, or would like more information on the circular economy, email us at [email protected] to request a copy of our circular economy information pack.

Improving glass recycling

Kerbside glass collections

Currently kerbside glass recycling is available to many households in Belfast. If you have a purple recycling box, you can recycle glass bottles and jars every fortnight at the kerbside. If your household has a weekly recycling box collection, you can also recycle glass bottles and jars at the kerbside.

Using your glass recycling box

To recycle glass bottles and jars, you must use the 44-litre recycling box we provide. Glass must be secured in the box with the lid on. Don't put broken glass in the recycling box. You should place this in the general waste bin. You can leave lids and caps on the bottles and jars when you put them in your glass recycling box.

Glass recycling expansion project

The project will run in three phases from 2025 to 2027:

For phase one, we have selected addresses in east and west Belfast where residents will have kerbside glass collections. We have not yet identified which areas to cover during phases two and three. 

• phase one in 2024-2025
• phase two in 2025-2026
• phase three in 2026-2027

There are approximately 70,000 households that don’t have a kerbside recycling collection for glass bottles and jars. We have a three-year project to provide glass recycling collections to households in areas that don’t have this service.

Sign the Belfast Litter Pledge

Show your commitment to a cleaner city by signing the Belfast Business Litter Pledge. Participating businesses receive a free litter kit, including: 

• Litter picker 
• Gloves 
• Dustpan and brush 
• Pocket ashtrays 
• Certificate and window sticker 

Sign up for the Belfast Litter Pledge (link opens in new window) or email [email protected].