New blue household bags making it easier than ever to get recycling

The bags aim to make household recycling easier by offering a convenient place to store recyclable items within the home.

Items can then be taken outside together and shaken into the blue bin using the handle at the bottom of the bag.

The project is funded by the DAERA Kerbside Transformation Programme Fund and 20,000 of the bags have already been delivered to local homes.

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Brian Tierney, encouraged families to integrate the bags into their daily routine.

“I’d like to thank Council’s Waste and Recycling Services teams for their work on this important initiative to date,” he said.

“I believe it will encourage people to recycle as much as they possibly can within the home and will have a knock on effect on the recycling rates for our entire council area.

“I have already started to use the bag in my own home where it has encouraged my sons and daughter to be more conscious of what waste they can recycle and has saved us the trouble of going back and forth to our outside blue bin.”

Recyclable items include: Paper, cardboard/light card, cans and tins, aerosols, plastic bottles: plastic milk, juice and soft drink bottles, washing–up liquid bottles, shampoo bottles, medicine bottles, bleach bottles, detergent bottles, household cleaner bottles, ketchup bottles, sauce bottles, bottle tops, plastic jar lids etc, cartons: drinks cartons, plastic containers, small waste electrical items, textiles: used clothing and shoes, mixed glass: All glass bottles and jars must be empty and rinsed out. Lids can be left on.