Dream deal agreed with mattress recycler and NIEA
Date published:
A new deal to recycle more mattresses, carpets and furniture and save them from the nightmare of landfill has been secured by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and social enterprise recycler Usel.
The agreement will see Belfast-based Usel (Ulster Supported Employment Ltd) work with NIEA to expand their recycling facilities and help protect and enhance our local environment.
David Small, Head of NIEA said the Prosperity Agreement with Usel would mean an increase in the amount of material they recycle.
“This agreement is great news for both the environment and the local economy. Usel plans to work with the Housing Associations and recycle their carpets, diverting nearly 7,000 tonnes of waste carpets from landfill - enough carpet to cover up to 750 football pitches.
“The materials from the carpets are then turned into a product which is in demand within the Equine industry, thereby helping to drive the circular economy,” he explained.
Bill Atkinson, Usel CEO said he was delighted to be signing the agreement.
“We are Northern Ireland’s only mattress recycling provider diverting over 400 tonnes of waste from landfill every year. Every mattress we collect is recycled. The recycled material is used in a number ways, for example to make carpet and acoustic dampening for the car industry. We recycle 96% of each mattress with the remaining 4% sent to energy from waste.
“We have ambitious environmental and circular economy targets and this new Prosperity Agreement with NIEA will help us deliver them. We believe this is a further step in us leading the way in promoting environmentally responsible business growth whilst also providing employment and training opportunities for individuals with disabilities and/or health related conditions,” he added.
This is the seventh Prosperity Agreement NIEA has now signed, and the first with a social enterprise.
NIEA’s David Small said: “Each agreement embodies a commitment to a sustainable future for the both the business and our environment. We want to work with progressive organisations like Usel who are committed to local communities and to creating prosperity and well-being in practical and sustainable ways.”
Notes to editors:
- Photo caption: David Small from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency visits Ulster Supported Employment Ltd to sign a Prosperity Agreement with Chief Executive Bill Atkinson. The agreement will see the social enterprise recycle more mattresses and carpets, reducing landfill.
- Usel is an arm’s length body of the Department for Communities, operating under a social enterprise model. Usel was established in 1962 with the aim of providing supported paid employment for people with disabilities within its Belfast manufacturing base. Usel train, support and employ up to 1,500 people every year, with disabilities and health-related conditions across Northern Ireland every year.
- Usel’s newest and fastest growing department is the Circular Economy department.
- A Circular Economy is one which minimises waste through innovation and keeping resources and products in use, to recover and regenerate materials and products at the end of their service life in order to extract maximum value from them and The Circular economy is the opposite of the current linear style economy and is underpinned by economic, social and natural capital and use of renewables. For further info, visit the NetRegs website.
- The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is an Agency within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).
- NIEA has existing agreements with Linden Foods/Linergy, Lafarge Cement Ireland, John Thompson and Sons, Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling Co., AES UK and Ireland Ltd, and Granville Ecopark Ltd.
- For more information about signing a Prosperity Agreement with NIEA email NIEAProsperityAgreements@daera-ni.gov.uk or visit the DAERA website.
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