Which recycling system works best? Councils point to England, Wales — and each other

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council has entered into a debate over which household recycling system works best, after the issue was raised at a meeting of a neighbouring council.

Speaking in the council chamber at Mossley Mill on Monday evening, Antrim DUP councillor Paul Dunlop highlighted the differing approaches taken by local authorities.

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council has recently completed the roll-out of a triple-stacked wheelie box system to 25,000 households in the Antrim, Randalstown, Crumlin, Templepatrick and Toome areas, after phasing out the blue bin system.

By contrast, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is planning to replace its box system with mixed recycling collected in blue bins in the Carrickfergus and Ballymena areas, alongside Larne, where the system is already in operation.

A public question submitted in advance of last month’s Mid and East Antrim Borough Council meeting asked which recycling system delivers the best results.

Antrim and Newtownabbey was the first council in Northern Ireland to introduce the wheelie-box system, when it was rolled out to 37,000 households in Newtownabbey in 2016. The system allows residents to sort recyclables — glass, plastics and cans, and paper and card — at the kerbside into separate, stackable boxes.

However, the council has since sought a meeting with its contractor, Bryson Recycling, following complaints from residents about missed collections across the borough.

A council director told members that policy guidance given to local authorities has been to focus on increasing both the quantity and quality of recycling, and that “kerbside sort” systems deliver the highest quality recyclables.

He explained that, in terms of recycling performance across the UK, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council “aligns itself with the Welsh model”.

“Welsh authorities have the second-best recycling rates in the world. That is the lead we are following,” he said.

The Welsh Government’s Collections Blueprint 2025 states:

“Prior to devolution in 1999, Wales was one of the world’s worst recyclers, recycling around 5% of municipal waste. This has risen to a rate of 66.6% in 2023–24, with the Welsh Government having set statutory targets for local authorities to recycle a minimum of 64% of waste by 2019–20, and 70% by 2024–25.

“When it comes to recycling performance, Wales is first in the UK, and now second in the world, behind only Austria.”

The blueprint states that a minimum service requires separate presentation of recyclables at the kerbside under a “kerbside sort” system.

Materials collected should include paper and cardboard; plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays; metal tins, cans, aerosols and foil; cartons and other paper-based composite products; and glass jars and bottles. A weekly kerbside collection of dry recyclables is recommended.

It also specifies a weekly collection of food waste using kitchen caddies and lockable kerbside containers, with food waste liners provided free of charge to residents.

The document further notes that with “increased recycling and less material going to disposal, significantly less residual capacity is needed”, stating that residual waste collections once every three to four weeks are “sufficient and more frequent collection should be avoided”.

Residual waste capacity equivalent to 60 litres or less per week is described as “sufficient for the standard service”.

Cardiff Council provides households with glass and garden waste bins, as well as a black bin for general non-recyclable waste, a food waste caddy, a blue sack for paper and cardboard, and a red sack for plastics and cans.

Households in Cardiff that use black bags instead of wheeled bins for general waste have been issued with two 70-litre “seagull sacks”. Cardiff Council says the seagull-proof sacks are the equivalent of a 140-litre wheeled bin and are a “simple but effective solution to stop birds and pests from tearing open rubbish bags and scattering litter across our streets”.

Swansea Council provides green bags for glass, paper, cardboard and cans; pink bags for plastics such as milk bottles and yoghurt pots; a green bin for weekly food waste collections; white bags for garden waste; and black bags for non-recyclable waste, with a maximum of three collected every fortnight.

At last month’s meeting, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s interim chief executive, Valerie Watts, explained the authority’s decision to move to a mixed recycling blue bin system in 2026–27.

She said: “Before elected members resolved to move to a co-mingled recycling collection system, officers researched which councils had the highest recycling rates in Northern Ireland and also in England.

“Consequently, the highest-performing councils collect their recycling waste in a single-bin co-mingled system and, based on research undertaken, the council is confident that the only option for achieving the government’s recycling targets was to adopt the blue bin.

“The council is unable to comment on whether Antrim and Newtownabbey or Mid and East Antrim Council is right — Antrim and Newtownabbey Council will have had to make its decision based on affordability, acceptability and expected outcome.”