Refuse Collection

Antrim Borough Council is one of Northern Ireland's leading local authorities in terms of waste management.

The Council operates three civic amenity sites where householders can dispose of domestic waste and take advantage of a wide range of recycling facilities for glass, metal, waste oils, paper, textiles and green waste - all free of charge.

In addition, there are several kerbside collections in operation including black bins, blue bins and brown bins.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What can be put into each container?

Antrim Borough Council supply up to 3 bins to each household within the Borough.

Brown for compostable household materials
Blue for your dry recyclables.
Black for all non-recyclable household waste

You can put into your brown bin materials including garden waste, vegetable peelings, fruit, napkins and kitchen roll, cold ashes, egg shells and tea bags.

Into the blue bin put paper and cardboard, plastic bottles including milk cartons and detergent bottles, food and drinks cans and aerosol cans.

For a full and comprehensive list contact the Environmental Education & Awareness Officer on 9446 3113.

2. What time should I have my bin ready for collection?

Regardless of which bin is being lifted, all bins should be presented by 7.00 am on the day of collection. This is irrespective of what time you consider the bin lorry to “normally” arrive, as these times may change due to other commitments or a larger collection round.

Failure to present your bin by 7.00 am may result in your bin not being collected until the following round, which may be in another fortnight or month.

3. How often do my bins get lifted?

It really depends on the area, the bin and the time of year. Every resident within the Borough should have a “Collection Calendar” which will outline the week your bin will be collected and which bin to leave out for collection.

If you do not have a copy of this calendar, or have difficulty in understanding the information provided then contact a member of the Waste Management Team T: 9446 3113.

4. I keep leaving my bin bags out for collection with my bin, why are these not being collected?

There are two reasons for this.

To encourage the recycling and the minimisation of waste. Antrim Borough Council provide each household with at least one other recycling bin and if we are recycling as efficiently as we should then there is no need for additional rubbish bags.

Secondly for Health and Safety reasons. Council policy no longer enables the collection team to collect bags unless they are well contained within the bin.

If residents are confident that they are fully participating in Antrim’s Recycling Scheme and are still having difficulty then get in contact with a member of the Waste Management Team T. 9446 3113.

5. I’ve tried to reduce my waste but my recycling bins are not big enough, what else can I try?

Antrim Borough Council has three Household Recycling Centres (HRC’s) where you can go to dispose of even more of your household recyclables.

These Recycling Centres are located at:

• Antrim (Newpark) T. 9442 8107
• Randalstown, Clonkeen Road T. 9447 3813
• Crumlin, Railway Yard (off Main Street) T. 9442 3640

Opening hours are:

Monday to Friday 8.00 am to 9.00 pm
Saturday 8.00 am to 6.00 pm
Closed all day Sunday

You can take the following items to the HRC’s:

6. I don’t have a brown bin but would like to get rid of all the compostable waste from my bin. What can I do?

You can get in contact with Antrim Borough Council who sell discounted home composters to their residents or schools.

Home composters can be purchased for £9.99.

7. My recycling bin wasn’t collected the other day and there was a message left telling me my bin was contaminated. What does this mean?

If you received a contamination notice then this means that an item, or items, were found in your bin that should not have been put there.

For example, in your Blue, dry recyclables bin, you are allowed to put paper and card, plastic bottles, aerosol cans and food and drinks cans. If a member of the collection team found a glass bottle or jar in your bin then it would be considered contaminated.

This would result in your bin not being collected until the item or items have been removed, once this has successfully carried out your bin will be collected on the next round.

8. What happens to my waste materials once they have been collected?

All dry recyclable materials are dealt with through arc21, who sub contract the sorting of this material to Bryson House as of June 2005. This material is then shipped on to the UK or Europe to be recycled into new products.

All material from the brown bins is taken directly to a company called Greenacres who compost the contents for Antrim Borough Council. The Council then use much of this on their award winning flowerbeds which are situated throughout the Borough.

9. Why do we need to recycle at all?

Apart from the environmental benefits that we all gain from recycling and managing our waste, such as the reduced need for landfills, reduction in air and water pollution and the reduced need for tree felling and consequent loss of habitat, there are also the cost benefits and legal requirements.

Sending material to landfill is expensive and local councils are charged by the tonne of material they landfill.

The amount of waste that each local council disposes of is paid for by a percentage of householder’s rates.

Under new EU legislation each local Council has to recycle 25% of it’s total household waste by 2005 with this being increased to 40% by 2010. Failure to comply with these standards will result in large fines for local Councils, which will be reflected in the householders rates.

So remember, it is in everyone’s benefit to reduce their household waste both environmentally and economically.