Limerick Clare Kerry Regional Waste Management Office as set up an Eco Pledge Programme for people to make a pledge to improve their environmental behaviour.
Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by environmental issues and helpless to do anything about it. The Eco Pledge system makes it easy, people can choose an action that they can easily do and take the Eco-Pledge. Small changes in behaviour can have a huge impact when combined with thousands of like-minded people.
Pledges can be made to:
- Choose Tap Water
- Say no to paper bags
- Make a shopping list and stick to it
- Use both sides of the page
- Invest in rechargable batteries
- Repair and customize you clothes
- Say no to junk mail
- Choose less packaging
- Re-use Stuff
- Raise Awareness
Click here to make a pledge (or four)
LCK RWMO have also made a brilliant video showing how the pledge can work in reality, with students from Crescent College on the streets of Limerick – check it out!
Several local authorities are supporting the 2011 European Week of Waste Reduction (EWWR) with a wide range of local activities.
Click here to see the full range of Irish activities by everyone, including the Irish EPA
Here is just some of what the local authorities are doing – get out there and support them!
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Carlow County Council:
22 November: Garden Swap Shop – A “Tidy Towns Swap Shop” event will be held in Bagenalstown. Public will be encouraged to bring old, unnecessary pieces of equipment, (strimmers, gardening tools), garden furniture etc. All items will be swapped/given to other Tidy Towns groups instead of being thrown away. A WEEE collection is also being organised for the day on-site.
Contact: Fionnghuala Ryan – 059-9136240 - fryan@carlowcoco.ie; www.carlow.ie
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Cavan County Council:
19-27 November: Awareness in Waste Prevention – Activities taking place in Cavan Town – Green Schools Poster Campaign winners to be used for billboard campaign; Campaign about litter through local media – newspapers and radio; Music Youth bands day to raise awareness of EWWR; County-wide Billboard Campaign on Waste Prevention; Facebook awareness to reach youth and Cavan Institute students; Electric Car public session, local media radio interviews with each Local Authority Litter Warden to raise awareness on litter problems.
Contact: Sinead Fox – 087-9808507 sfox@cavancoco.ie; www.cavancoco.ie
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Cork County Council:
26th November: Various stakeholders and actors will demonstrate in Fota Wildlife Park actions supporting waste prevention, lowering of dependance on resources, extending the life of goods and avoiding food waste.
Contact: Mary Stack – 021-4532722 mary.stack@corkcoco.ie; www.corkcoco.ie
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Galway County Council
21-25 November – Supermarket Campaign – Promotion of waste prevention in Galway; Launch of Waste Prevention Booklet; Press Release
Contact: Sinead Ni Mhainnin – 091-476488 – snimhain@galwaycoco.ie; www.galway.ie
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Limerick Clare Kerry Regional Waste Office:
19 November: ICA Bootcamp Launch - Bringing a new life to old clothes: Representatives of the network will be showing how easy it is to make clothes last longer including: Hemming, Button & Zip repair, Customising for new life and basic sewing machine skills; A new web page will be launched aimed at encouraging all to pledge to complete a simple waste prevention action.
Contact: Pauline McDonagh – 061-496844 paulinemcdonagh@managewaste.ie; www.managewaste.ie
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Monaghan County Council
19-27 November: Launch and promotion of Food Waste = Money Waste internet video which has been produced by Monaghan County Council. 21-25 Nov: The Smoothie Bike – Workshop in 5 different schools that focuses on our consumption patterns and how small changes can make a difference.
Contact: Nial O’Connor – 047-30556; noconnor@monaghancoco.ie; www.monaghan.ie
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Waterford County Council
19-27 November – Food Waste Awareness - A Flash Mob event will be held in Dungarvan shopping centre to raise awareness of food waste and an environmental awareness campaign involving stands on the EcoCert, Green Business, Anti Litter awareness and promotion will also be held; participation by Green Schools in a competition to design a poster on food waste reduction – winning design will be printed onto a flag which will be raised on the day at the end of the flash mob event.
Contact: Anne Sullivan – 058-22116 – asullivan@waterfordcoco.ie; www.waterfordcoco.ie
The Cliffs of Moher visitor centre (which has worked closely with the Local Authority prevention Network and The Limerick Clare Kerry Regional Waste Management Office) has achieved the 3-Star Eco-certification through the Sustainable Tourism Eco-Certification Program (STEP). This thorough, independently audited Eco-certification is awarded by Sustainable Travel International to tourism businesses around the world who achieve the necessary standards in all areas of their business.
“Our approach to eco-tourism and sustainability runs through every level of the business,” states Katherine Webster, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience. “We’re proud of the many changes we’ve made, from the sustainable technologies built into the underground visitor center, to the turbo hand dryers in the toilets that use less energy and avoid use of paper hand towels; from the use of local suppliers and contractors, to the increased use of online marketing and communication with the local community. Eco-tourism isn’t just a project – it’s a way of doing business.”
Some waste and energy management initiatives undertaken by the Visitor Center were super simple – like the use of see-through trash bags for recycling areas, and the addition of pictorial signs on bins to help non-English speaking visitors. Signs have been added to the site, which encourage staff to turn off appliances and equipment. The company recently took over the café operation and refocused the food offering on more local products and suppliers, which visitors to the Cliffs have been very excited about. The visitor center also undertook an exercise in 2011 to measure its carbon foot print, and has achieved carbon neutrality through reductions in energy efficiency and the purchase of offsets.
The Cliffs of Moher have collaborated with STI since 2009, including a project with an STI-sponsored research student based at Sligo Institute of Technology, who worked alongside the Cliffs of Moher Green Team to develop and implement the required policies and procedures. The Cliffs of Moher are one of the first Irish tourism businesses to achieve STEP Eco-certification. This Achievement comes on the heels of being awarded the 2010 Green Award for the Entertainment & Leisure industry.
The Cliffs of Moher are one of 28 finalists in a global online campaign to find the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The final 7 will be announced on 11th November 2011.
Three LAPN related initiatives have been nominated for environmental awards, giving due recognition to the great work being done in the programme.
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Thomond Park Stadium has been shortlisted as a finalist for a Green Awards 2011 in the Entertainment and Leisure Category.
They have also launched their Community Fund which will include sponsorship of local environmental and waste prevention awards. They also took part in Earth Hour 2011.
Well done Thomond Park!
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Galway County Council has been shortlisted in the Local Authority category of the 2011 Green Awards.
This is in recognition of all the great work being done in Galway over the years to protect the local environment.
For example, click here to see the environmental guide for business that Galway County Council has produced Changing Behaviour – Saving Resources
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The Limerick Clare Kerry Regional Waste Management Office organised a Batucamob to be held at the Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare on Saturday November 20th 2010.
This was part of the European Waste Reduction Week (EWWR) initiatve and the event was nominated as a finalist (out of over 4,000 initiatives) for a 2011 EWWR Award where it won a special commendation.
Well done indeed!
The LAPN Events and Locations Working Group met in Portlaoise in January 2011, to discuss its plans for 2011, create synergies, share resources among the group and build upon the successes of 2010.
The group includes: Sharon Carroll, Galway City Council (Sharon.Carroll@galwaycity.ie); Michéal OCoileáin, Kerry County Council (mocoilea@kerrycoco.ie); Pauline McDonagh, Limerick County Council ; Sinead Fox, Cavan County Council (sfox@cavancoco.ie); Mary Stack, Cork County Council (Mary.stack@corkcoco.ie); and Sinéad Ní Mhainnín, Galway County Council (snimhain@GalwayCoCo.ie). The Working Group is faciliated by the Clean Technology Centre, as part of the LAPN.
Click on picture to see full size
In Galway there is a plan to green the Galway Arts Festival in 2011. It is an annual 2 week event that runs in July. There are 6 main venues (these will be the focus of the key LAPN work this year) and the local committee and council are very interested in the proposal. As it is an annual event there is a desire to start this year and then build on the work each year. Some areas of the city have already been active in greening their localities.
In Kerry, there are a number of festivals around the county this year but the main focus would be the Dingle Food Festival in October. The festival includes 50 food serving venues around the town as well as dedicated food markets. Disposable food packaging would be a primary target as well as waste segregation and the development of usable data. Work will also continue in Killarney National Park.
In Limerick and Clare the main work already done relates to Thomond Park and the Cliffs of Moher and reusable and compostable packaging has been a focus for these.
In Cavan, there were many good experiences and findings from the 2010 Green Fleadh – An Fleadh Ghlais. The local authority is hoping for some new ideas in 2011 to build upon them. Committee commitment was of huge importance from the beginning and this commitment was put in action from the start with regard to paper and leaflet use. In addition to waste there was a big push to reduce leaks as well as issuing hippo bags for toilets. Over 60 businesses were involved. A lot of PR was generated – radio, tv, local papers. The launch was a very important kick off and gave the green initiatives a public profile – made them real too. All involved then signed up to a charter (commitment to greening the fleadh) and these business were then given support.
The fleadh was carbon neutral and this was achieved by off setting the carbon impact by planting oak trees.
In Cork The Midelton Food Festival was the focus for 2010. It is well established and though it is just a 1 day festival there is usually about 15,000 people there. 100 stall holders participate and in recent years there has been an environmental awareness campaign with specific adverts about travel to and from the festival. They also have a puppeteer who provides information about waste during the festival. There are environmental messages all over the festival especially at the waste stations and this worked really well in the past.
The main focus areas to date have been:
1. Travel
2. Awareness raising
3. Stall holders
In 2011 further plans relate to new work in Fota Island Wildlife Park. Much of the experiences form the Cliffs of Moher may well be transferable. This has been a great benefit.
In Galway County other activities are also planned regarding small localised festivals all year long where litter is a problem for the towns involved. A set of guidelines for festival organisers to reduce the impact would be a very useful tool for this kind of event.
The group is also hoping to build upon the experiences of the greening of the Wexford Arts Festival in 2010.
James Hogan, CTC, outlined the work done on developing a green events guide for Failte Ireland, and on the greening of the Wexford Festival of Opera. Based on this and ongoing work, it was decided by the Working Group that a concerted effort would be put into the development of guidelines and norms, which could be applicable to events throughout the country.
The Limerick Clare Kerry region participated alongside other European regions with a local “BatucaMob” at the iconic Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare. The Cliffs of Moher are project partners with the LCK region on the local authority prevention network.
Right across Europe the “BatucaMob” event was a symbolic and unified action of people coming together to announce the arrival of the European week for Waste Reduction throughout Europe by making noise with empty waste containers.
To see the BatucaMob at the cliffs go to the youtube link below:
Posters have been produced to summarise the individual projects of the Local Authority Prevention Demonstration (LAPD) and Local Authority Prevention Network (LAPN) programmes. Click on the images to see the full posters and more information:
The following posters also summarise the whole programme – click on the images to learn more:
