arc21 is a collaborative partnership between 6 local councils in Northern Ireland and, in 2003, it was the first such Waste Management Group of its kind to be established in the UK.
It was formed in accordance with the (then) Department of the Environment's 'Northern Ireland Waste Management Strategy' at that time which promoted the concept of a joint approach between councils in geographical sub-regions across Northern Ireland.
In 2003, arc21's constituent councils signed a Collaboration Agreement (Terms of Agreement) which forms the basis of arc21's legal status as a body corporate. This has been augmented by a Supplementary Agreement in 2009. The Supplementary Agreement can be viewed in the Finance and Governance file category in the Downloads section.
Since local government reform on 1 April 2015, an updated Collaboration Agreement (Terms of Agreement), was signed by the six constituent councils which supersedes the 2003 agreement.