Councillor left feeling like a ‘buck eejit’ over hard plastics recycling confusion

A lack of recycling of hard plastics in Antrim and Newtownabbey was queried at a meeting of the borough council at Mossley Mill on Monday evening.

Threemilewater DUP Alderman Stephen Ross raised the issue following a recent visit to one of the borough’s household recycling centres.

A director explained the council had been presented with a new contract rate and said that a proposed new price is “still way above what we are paying for other waste treatments”.

He indicated waste rigid plastics have been put into the “residual waste stream” which “goes off for treatment”.

“It is not the process we would like to complete but at the minute we are struggling to find a market for this type of material. We try to divert as much as we can from landfill.”

He went on say that information would be provided to the public.

Ald Ross said:

“It would be great if we as councillors found that out before standing in a recycling centre with a lady giving out bucket loads for me to stand like a buck eejit, as I knew nothing about it. It just does not sit comfortably with myself.”

Meanwhile, the council has ratified a decision to reduce the opening hours of its five household recycling centres in a bid to cut costs saying it would result in a saving of £30,000 on staffing costs and £40,000 from waste reduction.

However, the planning opening reduction has been delayed while negotiations with staff and trade unions take place.