Newry and Mourne District Council

15th September 2009

Newry and Mourne District Council have launched their annual Need a Bag? Week at Newry Market. The campaign aims to help members of the public make the move to a more sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyle. The Council is hoping to build on the success of past years.

The week will run from the 19th to the 26th of September, with the Council running a number of initiatives to raise awareness among residents. Newry and Mourne District Council as part of the Southern Waste Management Partnership (SWaMP) have teamed up with the other seven Member Councils to produce 8,000 limited edition re-usable shopping bags to reduce reliance on disposable shopping bags and to raise awareness of waste reduction.

The bags will be distributed to local residents on Thursday 17th September at Newry Market. Residents will be asked to take part in a “Bag Amnesty” i.e. they can take their plastic bags and exchange them for a re-usable shopping bag. Council Officers will also be available during the day to provide advice and information on waste reduction and recycling issues.

The Deputy Mayor Cllr Charlie Casey said “ Over 230 million plastic bags are sent to landfill in Northern Ireland each year- that’s 316 bags per person! We are running this campaign to encourage residents to take a few minutes before they leave the house to remember to take their re-useable shopping bags and say no when offered more bags in the shop”.

The Council will also be encouraging retailers to get involved in Need a Bag? Week by encouraging staff to ask customers the simple question “do you really need a bag?”. Guidelines for retailers and a Need a bag? Poster will be available through the Council website www.newryandmourne.gov.uk.

If you would like anymore information on this campaign you can contact Therese Hamill, Recycling Officer, Newry and Mourne District Council. Tel: 028 30313233 or email recycling@newryandmorune.gov.uk.

(From Left to Right: Liaquat Ali, Cllr Michael Ruane, Deputy Mayor Cllr Charlie Casey, Gary McParland and Therese Hamill, NMDC Recycling Officer)

For more information please contact SWaMP on 028 82 24 9494



About SWaMP

The Southern Waste Management Partnership (SWaMP) is a voluntary coalition of councils established for the purposes of joint working across the 8 southern-most local authority areas in Northern Ireland.

The regional partnership enables joint waste planning in accordance with Article 23 of the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997. In addition, the partnership delivers efficiencies in procurement and facilitates sharing of resources. The overall aim of the group is to develop a waste management system that meets the region’s needs and contributes to economic and sustainable development.

The region has approximately 170,000 households and a population of approximately 470,000. It is a largely rural environment with the main population centres being Armagh, Newry, Banbridge, Craigavon, Enniskillen, Cookstown, Omagh and Dungannon

Partnership working enables the group to share recycling targets, procure jointly, communicate on a regular basis and share and develop best practice.