Over £2,500 donated to local charities from Whitehead recycling trial

Four local charities have received over £2,500 thanks to donations from generous Whitehead residents during the Reward4Waste Digital Deposit Return Scheme recycling trial, which ended earlier this year.

This revolutionary trial was a world first, run in collaboration with CryptoCycle, Bryson Recycling and Mid and East Antrim Borough Council with proud support from Britvic Ireland, PepsiCo and Encirc.

Some 2000 households in Whitehead were invited to take part in the trial, which saw over 5000 items recycled.

The scheme was launched to help find a simple and effective way for people to return single use drinks containers ahead of new legislation to bring in a deposit return scheme across the UK.

In the future consumers will pay a deposit on every drink purchased which is refunded upon recycling.

In other countries, people use reverse vending machines and take their bottles back to store to get their deposit - the Whitehead trial explored whether new technology could bring convenience to the deposit return scheme by letting people recycle their drinks containers at home using an app.

The trial included plastic drinks bottles, cans, plastic milk bottles and glass bottles purchased at SPAR Whitehead.

Each participating item had a unique sticker placed on it, which residents simply scanned into the Reward4Waste app at point of recycling to capture that recycle. This enabled them to claim their reward points, which they could either donate to charity or redeem for SPAR vouchers.

The trial was independently evaluated and assessed by Queens University Belfast with positive results and significant consumer acceptance.

The donations were presented by Tony McGurk, Chairman of CryptoCycle; Eric Randall, Director of Bryson Recycling; and the Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Councillor William McCaughey.

Tony McGurk said:

“It was purely due to the generosity of Whitehead that we were able to present four brilliant charities with significant donations. I’d like to thank the local residents for taking part in this pioneering trial.”

Eric Randall, Director of Bryson Recycling said:

“Bryson Recycling is keen to look at innovative ways to help people recycle from home that are convenient to them and result in high quality recyclables. We were delighted to run the trial in Whitehead.”

Mid and East Antrim Mayor, Councillor William McCaughey, added:

“Mid and East Antrim Borough Council are delighted to have partnered in this revolutionary trial in Whitehead which encouraged residents to use the inventive Reward4Waste app.

“This enabled them to deposit drinks containers in their kerbside recycling, and to generate a reward, which 50% of participants donated to local charities.

“The scheme will not only help residents recycle more, increasing the quality recyclate in the system, it will also reduce litter on the streets and could help to support many local charities through the generous donations made.”

Emma Johnston from Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful said:

“We were delighted to be one of the charities included in this innovative trial that encourages recycling of everyday packaging that could end up in landfill, or even worse littered in our local communities.

“We believe that packaging is a valuable resource, so a new app that enabled people to easily and quickly collect reward points for recycling seemed like a brilliant idea. Thank you to the Whitehead community for donating their points to help our work!”

Gaye Kerr from Angel Wishes said:

“Angel Wishes would like to say a massive thank you to everyone at Bryson Recycling for their generosity and support for our families.

“We greatly appreciate you supporting our charity and know the money raised will provide gifts for our newly diagnosed children. This alone will lift the children’s spirits as they begin their fight for life.”

Dawn McConnell from Hope House said: “We were delighted to have been chosen as one of the charities in the trial in Whitehead and would like to say a great big Thank You to all the wonderful community who chose Hope House to receive donations on their behalf.

This amazing amount will help us greatly with the costs of our building project enabling us to provide another accommodation to support many more cancer patients with much needed recuperation breaks.”

Jim Loughins, Principal of Whitehead Primary School, said:

“We were delighted to be part of the scheme as it allowed the children to be actively involved in recycling. It served to motivate and inspire the children while enhancing their understanding of the importance of recycling.

“Our money (£608) will be managed by our Eco School Committee and will be used to ensure that we as a school are doing the very best that we can do in terms of the environment.”