Recycling is emerging as a leading force in the Northern Ireland economy.

That’s the message from Bryson Recycling, Northern Ireland’s largest recycler as it revealed that the materials it handled for recycling directly support around 1,000 local jobs, through collection and remanufacturing, as well as many other related jobs in the service and transport sectors.

Bryson has seen significant growth in the sector over the last five years, with an increase in the amount and type of materials that can be processed within Northern Ireland contributing to its economic value. 35% of the materials handled by Bryson, amounting to 20,000 tonnes annually, are now reprocessed by companies in Northern Ireland, who turn the materials into products that fetch around £14m per year.

Eric Randall, Director of Bryson Recycling, which is part of the Bryson Charitable Group, said the industry has enjoyed remarkable growth recently.

He said: “Over recent years recycling has emerged as a leading industry in Northern Ireland, sustaining growth and creating jobs at a time when many industries have experienced a decline in demand and have had to make thousands of workers redundant”.

As a result of contracts with fourteen local authorities in Northern Ireland, Bryson has gone from recycling 21,000 tonnes of materials in 2005 to more than 52,000 tonnes last year. With local people recycling more and more, Bryson has been able to make a significant contribution to the Northern Ireland economy, allowing local processing firms to grow by providing outlets for the materials collected.

All of the glass collected through Bryson’s kerbside box collection service, for example, is processed by Glassdon in Toomebridge before going on to Quinn Glass in Fermanagh where it is used to make bottles for local brands such as Bushmills and Magners. Cherry Polymers in Antrim manufactures pipes using the plastic bottles collected, while paper is sent to Huhtamaki in Lurgan where it is used to make moulded fibre products such as egg cartons.

He added: “Maintaining a local focus is central to our ethos, as Bryson Recycling is a social enterprise that reinvests profits through Bryson Charitable Group to deliver a range of services across Northern Ireland, all of which have a clear social or environmental benefit. Through partnerships with Northern Ireland companies we are currently helping to sustain around 1,000 jobs in the recycling sector, which provides a real boost to our economy.

“The UK must meet tough recycling targets in the coming years, and although in Northern Ireland recycling levels have increased greatly, we still have some way to go. As such I expect to see the industry grow even further and I am very hopeful that, having established a thriving base, the recycling sector in Northern Ireland will be able to sustain growth and innovation and in doing so continue to provide support for local businesses and people.”

Environment Minister Edwin Poots said: “The figures speak for themselves.  Around 1,000 jobs have been created; turnover for recycling has topped £183 million and over 50,000 tonnes of waste has been collected and processed by Bryson and diverted from landfill last year, with over a third of these materials staying in Northern Ireland for recycling. This demonstrates the good economic and environmental value Bryson’s recycling industry has brought to Northern Ireland over the past five years.

He added: “With latest quarterly figures proving that households are recycling more than ever before (39%) there is an increased opportunity to sustain this momentum and ensure Northern Ireland continues to benefit from these opportunities.”