Bold strategy aims for zero waste in Derry and Strabane

Derry City and Strabane District Council is one of the first local authorities in the UK to create a zero waste circular economy strategy. Waste is a climate issue due to the emissions caused in manufacturing products that are then thrown away, and due to the methane gases released at landfill sites.

The council says it is working towards an economy where resources are used for as long as possible, have maximum value extracted from them and are recovered and regenerated at the end of their service life.

This is a core element of the region’s Inclusive Strategic Growth Plan, and has helped the area win Zero Waste City Region designation from Zero Waste Europe.

The strategy has three key aims. In order of priority, they are:

1. Preventing waste creation in the first place, encouraging reuse, improving the design of products, and extending product life cycles.
2. Encouraging its preparation for re-use.
3. Delivering separate waste collections for recycling, composting and digestion.

The council seeks to ensure that residual waste which is unable to be recycled is treated prior to disposal, to reduce its environmental impact.

The authority has outlined 37 key policy actions that will help it cut or eliminate waste and pollution from council services and activity, increase the re-use of materials and products and to develop regenerative natural systems.

To make these plans achievable, the council is attempting to shift local attitudes and behaviour to redefine waste as a vital resource. Its tactics are changes to collection methods combined with public education on issue.

The council is also moving its focus away from the percentages and amounts of different material gathered for recycling to the quality of the material eventually produced through the recycling process. This is important in creating future value on the commodity market as part of a circular economy.

Reuse and recycling

The local authority is upgrading its household waste and recycling centres and expanding food and garden waste collections to reduce the amount of valuable waste materials entering landfill. In the summer of 2020, the council worked with Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to deliver 14,600 new garden waste bins to homes in the region, allowing for locals to easily separate their garden waste from landfill waste.

The council is also developing a reuse and recycle economy through a partnership with New2You Reuse Centre, a local social enterprise. This partnership aims to educate residents on how to mend furniture or electrical products, helping to reduce the impact of our throwaway culture and providing useful skills that could potentially help with finding jobs.

Initiatives include the She Shed Project, which trains women aged between 18 and 35 on basic construction skills such as joinery, painting and decorating, mechanics and upcycling. The council also has a reuse and repair centre at their Pennyburn recycling site, where locals can learn skills such as bike and clothing repairs at upcycling workshops.

Green procurement strategy

The council has also introduced green procurement policies into plans and contracts. It is in the process of adopting new criteria for all purchasing activity.  It is already implementing green procurement plans with local events and festivals.  Its Greening Our Festivals and Events checklist (which is integrated into tender specifications for services) requires service providers to offer better waste disposal options, such as waste segregation, and more efficient energy use at events like implementing deposit return schemes for cups.

Council events feature demonstration tents where in-house recycling and horticulture teams show the public how circular economy practices work in real life. Activities like demonstrating how peelings can be turned into compost for food-growing help to encourage wider behaviour change.

Local and Sustainable Food

Food management is a key to creating a circular economy. Derry and Strabane views sustainable food production as a key priority. Its ultimate goal is a city that feeds itself.

The council is supporting a local food growing movement through the ‘I Can Grow’ project at the authority-owned Acorn Farm. This project, run in partnership with The Community Foundation, The Conservation Volunteers and University College Cork, is guiding 260 families through a food growing journey. They learn how to grow food sustainably, using compost from the council’s food and garden waste recycling,

The council also works with local food and drink providers through the Legenderry Food Network, which promotes sustainable food and drink practices. To be a member of the network, a minimum of five food and drink items have to be sourced locally.

 Refurbished laptops

A laptop donation scheme has helped children who had no access to a device with home-schooling during the pandemic. In partnership with North West Greenway Network, Sustrans and Zero Waste North West, 400 laptops were refurbished. The project also prompted wider action from central government.