A number of local MLAs, Councillors and Community Groups attended an event to celebrate the Alpha Programme having distributed over £1,000,000.

The landfill tax credits generated from the site at Mullaghglass have benefited over 37 community and biodiversity projects within a 10 mile radius of the site.

Over £100,000 of the total to date has been provided by Alpha Resource Management supplementing the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme from HM Treasury.

Projects which were awarded funding this year include the multi sports area at Carrickhill; refurbishment of two community buildings, one in Belfast and one in Aghalee; new play facilities in Springhill Park (W.Belfast); environmental improvements in Wallace Park, Lisburn and an interactive play area at Suffolk Community Centre (S.Belfast).

Sylvia Gordon, Groundwork NI Director commented,

"We are delighted to be working in partnership with Alpha Resource Management to manage the Alpha Programme. In this financial year alone the programme has funded a total of 11 projects with £349,943 funding. These projects have secured additional funding totaling £867,211. Over the past four years the Programme has benefited many community groups and organisations through a wide range of diverse projects. Groundwork NI makes the commitment to leveraging in additional funding with the purpose of making the best possible intervention."

We all commonly associate Alpha Resource Management Ltd. with a Landfill Site, but did you know at Mullaghglass there are 8 Newt ponds and an abundance of wildlife right on it’s very doorstep.

Tracy Russell, Waste Management Coordinator at Alpha captures photographs on a regular basis of all plants, insects and wildlife.

The development of vegetation within all of the newt ponds will increase the numbers of birds, amphibians and insects using the habitat in the future.

This vegetation provides cover and an enrichment of the habitat for the current species using the ponds as well as providing suitable breeding and spawning grounds.

In a survey carried out in May 2008, 210 Newts were identified in all of the 8 ponds (143 females and 67 males).

As the habitat develops over the forthcoming seasons everyone involved at Mullaghglass is hoping to see the newt ponds go from strength to strength demonstrating that industry and the environment can work together for the better.