This year’s Balmoral Show proved to be a success for the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society as it welcomed tens of thousands of visitors and trade exhibitors, and thanks to the implementation of a number of sustainability initiatives and its partnership with leading waste and resource management provider, RiverRidge, it has also achieved a significant reduction in the levels of waste volumes recorded at the show.
The Balmoral Show is Northern Ireland’s largest and most successful agri-food event, and this year’s event, which took place at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn from Wednesday 10th May until Saturday 13th May, marked RiverRidge’s seventh consecutive year as the show’s waste management provider.
Following detailed post-show analysis by RiverRidge, the total waste collected in 2023 was 54.90 tonnes compared to 78.06 tonnes collected during the 2022 show, which is an impressive 30% reduction in waste volumes over the show’s four days.
In recent years, organisers have put sustainability at the fore, and this has seen the introduction of various initiatives, including the installation of water drinking stations throughout the showgrounds, where visitors can refill their reusable water bottles free of charge. Segregated waste bins have also been placed within the Northern Ireland Food Pavilion, which highlight where the general, food and mixed recycling waste goes.
This year also saw the introduction of compostable packaging by food vendors, as well as tin can only bins, both of which were a great success and contributed to the overall reduction in waste.
As part of RiverRidge’s services to this year’s show, nine skips, five large RORO (roll on, roll off) lorries, three bin lorries, three compactors, 100 large bins (1100 litres) and 150 smaller bins (240 litres) were provided, with 100% of the waste collected being diverted from landfill and either recycled or recovered.
Operations Director at Balmoral Show, Rhonda Geary, commented, “We are delighted to see tangible results from RiverRidge of our sustainability efforts during this year’s Balmoral Show, which was a huge success. We are grateful to RiverRidge for the wide range of waste management services that they provide, which is always of the highest standard year on year.”
Pamela Jordan, Senior Commercial Manager at RiverRidge said, “The success of the initiatives that the Balmoral Show organisers have implemented this year are evident. The RUAS is leading the way with its sustainability efforts, and we hope to see further large events placing a similar focus on the reduction of waste moving forward. Well done to all involved.”
If you have an upcoming event and require a sustainable waste management partner, contact us today on 028 95 313 313 or email info@riverridge.co.uk.
