• 95% of householders say recycling is extremely or somewhat important to them
• In 2019, 40% of respondents said they only recycled when convenient for them and in 2022 that figure has reduced to just 14% indicating a clear improvement
• 99% said there were no negative issues with their recycling service
• 76% of householders are happy with how the council has asked them to recycle, in line with the NI average
• 85% of local householders say that they recycle everything they possibly can, up from 59% in 2019
• 11% of householders say they put glass in their black bin if their recycling bin/box is full
• 34% said that they would recycle less if they had to separate their glass into a caddy rather than putting it into their mixed dry recycling bin

A recent NI-wide recycling poll has revealed that over three quarters of householders in the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area are happy with how the council has asked them to recycle and more people are recycling and not just when it’s convenient.

In 2019, 40% of respondents said they only recycled when convenient for them. In 2022 that figure has reduced to just 14%, indicating a clear improvement.

Over a third of local respondents said that they would recycle less if they had to separate their glass into a caddy rather than putting it into their mixed dry recycling bin.

The survey showed that in council areas, such as Causeway Coast and Glens, where household recyclables (plastic, paper, card, tins, and cardboard etc.) can be ‘commingled’ with glass in the same bin, householders were on average 82% happy with their glass collection method, compared to 70% of those in council areas that did not offer this service.

Joseph Doherty, Managing Director of Re-Gen Waste, said: “These survey results indicate that prioritising simplicity and convenience is the best approach to ensuring a high level of household recycling.”

He said: “We ran the same survey with Lucid Talk in 2019 and it is heartening to see more householders (95%) are saying recycling is very or somewhat important to them and that 85% of householders try to recycle everything they can, a 26% increase from 59% three years ago.”

The survey also found that 11% of people across the Council area said they would dump glass into their black bin if their recycling bin was full.

Mr. Doherty said: “This particular finding is concerning because although most householders feel recycling is important and 85% say they recycle everything they can, a significant number will still revert to bad habits if their recycling service becomes temporarily inconvenient.

“We know people care about the environment and removing barriers is the best way to improve recycling. It is our view that local authorities must encourage the maximum number of people to recycle the maximum volume of materials by making the process as easy and convenient as possible, such as offering them one bin to recycle everything. This will boost householder recycling rates and have a big impact on Councils’ recycling performance.”

The survey was carried out by Lucid Talk across all 11 council areas in March 2022