WEST Belfast company – and Ireland's leading organics recycling firm – Natural World Products (NWP) has unveiled ambitious plans to plant 15,000 trees by 2025 at its headquarters in the Belfast Hills, creating crucial new native woodlands that will cover an area roughly the size of 10 football pitches.
The three-year project, in collaboration with Belfast Hills Partnership, Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council and the Woodland Trust has already seen the first phase of planting native species saplings, germinated in NWP’s peat-free compost, get under way at the company’s Glenside Road location.
Colm Warren, Chief Executive at NWP, said: “As we continue to seek solutions to address issues associated with climate change, we are delighted to be launching this tree planting initiative.
“The trees themselves and the compost and soil conditioners used play an incredible role in terms of carbon capture, helping to return organic material to the soil and in enabling us to start restoring formerly neglected lands to more natural states of biodiversity, and reduce erosion.
“With a continuous programme of planting and other exciting collaborations happening in other council areas we have an ambitious vision to do a lot more of this type of work in the Belfast Hills and beyond.
“Through this type of effective collaboration, we can seek to increase tree coverage, build soil health, improve biodiversity and protect crucial habitats in the hills surrounding us – while providing critical and sustainable recycling solutions for household-generated food and garden waste.
Recycling at Natural World Products
“It’s people using their brown bins and local recycling centres effectively and providing high quality clean organics for us to process that actually enables this type of thing to happen. It is literally the circular economy on our own doorstep and a local solution to help address in our own small way some of our most significant global challenges.”
Colm added: “The first planting of the trees here at Glenside really completes a very particular local circle, having been germinated in compost produced using organic materials received from local authorities in the area, including Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council.”
Jim Bradley, Partnership Manager from The Belfast Hills Partnership, said: “We are excited to be partnering with NWP on this project, working alongside its dedicated team and Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council to ensure there is a positive impact on both the environment and the local community.
“The trees have been planted in an area that is in need of reforestation, which, in the near future, will see a host of environmental benefits, including improved air quality and the reduction of Northern Ireland’s carbon footprint.”
