Environment Minister Arlene Foster today officially opened the new £1.7 million expansion to the Banbridge District Council community recycling centre.

The centre will provide the area with a much improved facility and its 'state of the art' design and layout has been created to make a valuable contribution to the council's sustainable development credentials.

For example, there will be a training facility provided to educate local schoolchildren and community groups on important environmental issues.

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The Minister praised the council's new facilities and congratulated it on the work it had done to achieve the second highest recycling rate of all 26 district council areas in Northern Ireland.

She said: "I am keenly aware that Banbridge District is one of the highest recyclers in Northern Ireland and is well on the way to achieving the target set down by Government to divert household waste going to landfill by 2010 – however, this excellent progress needs to be replicated across Northern Ireland."

The Minister added: "There has been significant progress on waste and recycling in Northern Ireland in recent years, but we must not be complacent – we need to continue to drive up performance for more sustainable waste management."

(JM)