Bryson Recycling set to provide a winter lifeline

Leading social enterprise Bryson Recycling has pledged to help the most vulnerable affected by Covid-19 this winter through a charity initiative involving over 180,000 households across Northern Ireland.

The popular ‘Recycling Rewards’ bring together Bryson and three partners, Huhtamaki in Lurgan, Cherry Pipes in Dungannon and Encirc in Fermanagh. Households across five council areas are encouraged to recycle more paper, plastic and glass all in aid of a good cause and, for every tonne collected, the partners donate £1 to the nominated charity.

This year’s charity partner is the ‘Bryson Fund’, which is delivered by the Bryson Charitable Group. Since the Bryson Fund was launched earlier this year, it has worked to respond rapidly to existing and emerging societal need. It has provided £250,000 support from Bryson Charitable Group’s own reserves to help those severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 5,168 people have received emergency care in the form of home heating and electricity, along with food, essential items, white goods, and emotional support.

Jo Marley, Director at Bryson Care comments on this year’s campaign: “The Bryson Group provides support for those in need across all ages and backgrounds. It was clear that we needed to consider the effect and pressure that the pandemic was going to place on communities here and be able to provide a range of coping mechanisms for families and individuals faced with difficult challenges.

“We are working with a range of community groups and leaders to identify the most vulnerable in society and feel it is our duty to look after those who need access to our services. Each year, we help over 30,000 people and the ‘Bryson Fund’ is a direct response to provide further assistance during the current health crisis.

“The Recycling Rewards are particularly important this year as the negative impact of Covid will continue to be very difficult and we must look to providing sufficient solutions for people. Fundraising for charities has also been severely hampered this year by the pandemic and this initiative will be critical to our ongoing work.”

With more people spending time at home this year for various reasons, there has been a 22% increase in recycling levels where Bryson operate their weekly kerbside collections.

Eric Randall, Director at Bryson Recycling added: “This initiative is now in its fifth year and we have worked with many local charities in that time. It was important for us to be able to reach out to those in need who are being affected by the immediate and long-term effects of covid this year.

“As people are recycling more than ever, we are predicting an incredibly busy Christmas - so it’s a perfect opportunity for households in these council areas

to give a little back, simply by recycling more. The Recycling Rewards demonstrate how everyone can play a part to help those who need support.

Through this initiative, we aim to raise awareness for the importance of recycling and its positive contribution to the communities we live and work in.

“Northern Irish manufacturing companies require high-quality paper, glass and plastics that result from the way materials are kept separate throughout our kerbside collection process. Thanks to our approach, we provide local companies with high quality materials that can be recycled locally, which is better for the environment, boosts the economy and supports local jobs.”

Through their local circular economy approach, Bryson sends paper, plastic and glass collected on a weekly basis to local companies Huhtamaki, Cherry Pipes and Encirc who transform materials into new products for well-known brands such as McDonalds, Skea, Bushmills and Baileys. Cherry pipes converts plastic bottles collected into pipes for the agricultural, civil engineering and sportsfield sectors. Glass is sent to Encirc in Fermanagh where they turn the glass into bottles for food and drinks companies for well-known brands such as Bushmills and Baileys.

Huhtamaki is the world leader in environmentally friendly moulded fibre packaging. The company uses 100% recycled paper and card to manufacture egg boxes for retailers such as Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer’s and cup carriers for brands such as McDonalds & Starbucks.

Weekly household collections with Bryson Recycling are carried out across five council areas: Antrim & Newtownabbey, Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon, Belfast, Lisburn and Castlereagh and Mid & East Antrim.

For more information on Bryson Recycling and collections visit www.brysonrecycling.org.

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