At any one time, there are nearly 1.3 million items of litter on the streets of Northern Ireland – costing approximately £45 million to clean each year.
Our borough has thousands of kilometres of roads, not to mention footpaths, hedgerows, open spaces, rivers and lakes, which are sadly strewn with all sorts of litter – and especially single-use plastics.
BUT! We have the power to change this – with your continued help and support! So what can we do? Here are some super simple suggestions:
REUSE: remember to bring your bags for life when shopping and a reusable cup for your takeaway coffee
REDUCE: the amount of plastics we use.
USE A BIN: Look out for a bin and use it!
TAKE YOUR LITTER HOME: If you are out and about and can’t find a bin, take your rubbish home and dispose of it responsibly.
Litter: Litter is anything from a crisp packet or cigarette butt to a disposable coffee cup or drinks can. All litter is unsightly and makes our local areas look untidy and uncared for. Have you noticed litter in the bushes? The rivers? The streets? Litter can take years to degrade, causing harm to wildlife and habitats – and the simple solution? Don’t drop litter! Find out more here: https://www.armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk/resident/clean-neighbourhoods/
Recycling: All households within our area have a green bin for dry recyclable materials and a brown bin for garden and food waste – and residents are doing a fantastic job in recycling from home. If you need further information on what to put in your green bin and brown bin, click here:
What to put in your green bin
What to put in your brown bin/kerbside caddy
Don’t forget to use our Recycling Centres too which accept a wide range of household rubbish, recyclable materials, bulky items and more. Find out more here: https://www.armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk/resident/recycling-centres/
Single Use Plastics: Probably the biggest problem we are currently facing. Every piece of plastic we have ever touched is still on earth – whether intact or degraded – and will be forever. This situation has driven plastic litter high up the global agenda and it is something we can all help with. Use reusable bags, coffee cups and water bottles for example – simple but effective. For more easy tips click here: https://www.keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org/cgi-bin/generic?instanceID=60
Climate Change: Two words we hear regularly, but words we probably don’t quite understand or know how they can affect our daily lives. As a Council, we are currently working on our Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy and many of our officers have undertaken training. For general information click here: Climate change | nidirect and for advice on what you can do to help click here: Eco-Home, programme run by Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful (eco-homeni.org)
Campaigns: We are running a number of campaigns to encourage you to think about littering, single use plastics, recycling and climate change with lots of advice and support.
