As Westmeath County Council continues its on-going awareness campaign aimed at improving the environment and making the county a cleaner and better place to live in, the GAA has a role to play in promoting good environmental practice according to Environmental Awareness Officer Noreen Gibney. The battle against waste has taken on added impetus in Ireland in recent years. Westmeath County Council has been to the forefront with its waste management and recycling strategies to meet the targets set out by the EU. The progression has been steady and has led to a massive reduction in the volume of waste going into landfill, with a reduction in litter levels across the county too. "The message we are trying to get across is that good environmental practice will make the county a cleaner and better place to live in," says Westmeath County Council Environmental Awareness Officer Noreen Gibney. "There is an onus on everyone to do all they can to protect the environment for future generations. This includes reducing the waste which they produce at home, at work and at school. All material which can be recycled should be placed either in the Blue Bin (for cans, newspapers and cartons) or taken to the nearest recycling facility for recycling. "We have various initiatives running at the moment to raise awareness and to get people more environmentally friendly. Everyone has a role to play in promoting good environmental practice, and that includes the GAA." Among the environmental initiatives in operation in Westmeath are the Tidy Town Merit Awards, Tidy Estate Competition, Back to School Art Competition and the Green Schools Programme. The Tidy Towns Merit Awards are hosted by Westmeath County Council to recognise the commitment and dedication of local groups and to celebrate their achievements at local and national levels in the Tidy Towns competition. Merit Awards are presented to Westmeath Tidy Town groups in each electoral area who have achieved the highest marks and also to the most improved group. Last year's overall winner was Ballinahown, while awards also went to Ballynacargy, Milltownpass, Ballinagore, Castlepollard and Kinnegad. On the same night as the Tidy Town Merit Awards were presented, the winners of the Tidy Estate Competition were also announced. The upkeep of estates is carried out by dedicated volunteers who give their time and effort to the various residents associations. The Tidy Estate winners in Mullingar in 2006 were Hillside Drive, Auburn Village, Green Park and Dalton Park. Later this year, the Tidy Towns Unit of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government will provide a national adjudicator to attend an evening seminar in Westmeath on preparing for the Tidy Towns Competition. The seminar would be of interest to existing committees and indeed towns considering developing new committees. Westmeath County Council held a Back to School Art Competition with a recycling competition at the beginning of the school year in September 2006. There was a tremendous response from schools with over 1,500 entries. The artists whose paintings were chosen by the judges after a difficult task were: Megan Harding, aged nine, Collinstown NS; Hillary Dunne, aged 10, St. Colman's NS, Mullingar; Aisling Bracken, aged 9, St. Etchen's NS, Kinnegad. The three winning entrants each received €150 and in addition, their artwork is now displayed on the side of three of the refuse and recycling trucks used by Allied Waste Management, the company contracted to collect refuse for Westmeath County Council. Fifty-three schools in Westmeath are registered under the Green Schools Programme, while the number of schools with green flag status rose to 21 during 2006. The Green Schools Programme can be adopted by any school using the guidelines provided by An Taisce, who run the scheme in co-operation with local authorities. The Programme can help schools to: improve the school environment; reduce litter and waste; reduce fuel bills; increase environmental awareness; involve the local community; create links with other schools in Ireland and internationally; gain local publicity. Schools work through a number of themes including: 'litter and waste management', 'energy', 'water' and 'transport'. The following schools received Green Flag status during 2006: An Grianan NS, Mount Temple, Castlepollard Parochial School, Convent Primary School, Rochfortbridge, Gaelscoil and Mhuilinn, Mullingar, Scoil Bhride, Rochfortbridge, St. Joseph's Secondary School, Rochfortbridge, St. Mary's NS, Raharney, Ardnagrath NS, Walderstown, Milltown NS, Rathconrath, St. Colman's NS, Mullingar and St. Mary's NS, Athlone. The closing date for schools to apply for Green Flag status in the current academic year is March 1, 2007. In October 2006, a pilot Brown Bin service to allow householders to present their organic kitchen waste and garden waste separately for recycling was introduced to 1,000 households in Mullingar. Depending on the success of the pilot, Westmeath County Council will consider the rolling out of Brown Bins throughout the county. Householders in the pilot area now have three bins and their Blue and Brown Bins are collected on the usual recycling week in accordance with the calendar issued at the beginning of each year. The Brown Bin was introduced to reduce the materials in the refuse bin. Organic waste (kitchen and garden) comprises approximately 33 per cent of all household waste. Using the Brown Bin is not only good for the environment, but will also help Westmeath reach national recycling targets. The kitchen and garden wastes collected in the Brown Bin are delivered to a composting facility where they are treated biologically using a variety of technologies and transformed into compost. Putting plastic in the bin will contaminate the contents and get caught up in the machinery at the compost facility. In September 2006, Westmeath County Council commenced an alternate week bin collection service which is also aimed at reducing the amount of waste going to landfill and to increase recycling. It's a simple scheme. One week, your normal refuse bin is collected and the next, your blue recycling bin is collected. Since its introduction in 2005, the Blue Bin scheme has proven to be a great success. By moving to an alternate week system, it allows for the introduction of the organic Brown Bin on a permanent basis. Many counties across Ireland are already using an alternate week collection scheme with great results and there is no reason why it can't be a success in Westmeath too. Recycling in Westmeath has never been easier, especially since the introduction of the Blue Bin service two years ago. In addition, there are 48 Bring Banks for cans and bottles across the county. In 2005, Westmeath County Council recycled 27 per cent of all waste collected, a considerable increase on the 15 per cent which was recycled in 2004. As well as helping change people's ways through education and awareness, the Council is currently making unprecedented investment in recycling infrastructure throughout the county. A new Civic Amenity Centre (Recycling Centre) opened in January 2007 at Zone C, Mullingar Business Park, Clonmore, Mullingar, bringing to two the number of modern recycling facilities in the county. The new Mullingar Centre and the existing centre at Golden Island, Athlone accept a wide range of materials for recycling such as batteries, white goods, electrical equipment, fluorescent tubes, metal waste, clothes, etc. The introduction of the Blue Bin as well as the use of bottle banks and recycling centres diverted 4,759 tonnes of waste from landfill in 2005. But despite this progress, Noreen stresses that Westmeath cannot afford to rest on its laurels in the battle against waste. "The new facilities and services make it easier than ever to recycle," she says. "However, the Council needs the community to work with us and use the facilities properly if we are to successfully tackle the serious threat that waste poses to our environment, our economy and our future. "The race against waste is certainly on in Westmeath and Westmeath County Council looks forward to working with the people of Westmeath in winning the race." For further information on environmental issues in Westmeath, contact the Environmental Awareness Officer, Environment Section, Westmeath County Council, Bishopsgate Street, Mullingar. Telephone 044-9332226 or email: [email protected] Tweet

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