SDLP Youth: Time to think outside the cardboard box

national | environment | press release Thursday May 24, 2007 20:48 by SDLP Youth - SDLP

SDLP Youth Chairman Gary McKeown urges the government to encourage people to recycle starting with showing a good example themselves.

"It's not enough for government to lecture people about the need to
recycle- they need to be thinking of creative ways to actually make it
happen," SDLP Youth Chairman Gary McKeown has stated.

"For example, the government should lead the way on the recycling front
by making it compulsory for all civil service offices to recycle," said
Mr McKeown.

"A large proportion of the people working in the north are employed by
the government, be it directly through the civil service or indirectly
through public bodies. These workplaces produce an inordinate amount of
waste each year including paper, cardboard boxes and food wrappers.

"The problem is that even if government employees are green-minded,
there is often little they can do about the ridiculous amount of rubbish
from their workplaces which ends up in landfill as their employers fail
to provide recycling facilities.

"If we are serious about improving the environment, then the lead must
be taken from the top. The government should make it compulsory for all
state offices and facilities to recycle their waste and encourage
employees to think green. This would permeate down through society and
create greater awareness of the need to recycle by getting people into
the habit of putting their office waste, newspapers, empty tins and
glass bottles into the recycling bin rather than the rubbish bin."

Mr McKeown concluded: "Most people like the idea of recycling in theory,
but often think it's too much bother finding somewhere to get it done.
If the government made recycling facilities more readily available,
whether in the workplace or at home, it would make it so much easier for
people to contribute towards helping the environment."