Author: monaghan

 

A three year Litter Management Plan in relation to the measures being under taken by Monaghan County Council, with the assistance of community and voluntary groups, schools, businesses, retailers and all citizens of County Monaghan was adopted by Monaghan County Council at their October monthly meeting.

You can download a copy of the plan here:

Final Litter Management Plan Adopted 11th October 2021

Tá cóip den Phlean le fáil as Gaeilge anseo:

Final Plean Bruscair 2021 2023 October 2021

Householders can now place all plastic packaging into the household recycling bin – once it is clean dry and loose. This includes both soft and rigid plastics everything from a plastic bottle to the plastic film on fruit packs!

This is a welcome development, as currently in Ireland we recycle less than one third of all our of plastic packaging. A big percentage of our plastic waste now ends up in the general household bin, and unless this plastic packaging is collected and separated, it will never be recycled. Collecting soft and rigid plastics in the household recycling bin is a big step towards separating available recyclable plastics that are currently being sent to landfill and energy recovery.

2018 Irish data show us that of the 264,000 tonnes of plastic packaging generated, we only recycled 82,000. To achieve targets for plastics of 50% by 2025, and 55% by 2030, the recycling of plastics in Ireland will have to increase.

In recent years, there have been many improvements in the technology used for plastic recycling. For example, some Irish recycling facilities now use state of the art optical sorting equipment that can identify different plastic types based on reflection and refraction of light beams, which has increased the opportunity to recycle more plastics. This coupled with continued advancements in technology and the emergence of new markets for different plastic types will also play an important role in plastic recycling into the future.
Currently, any non-recyclable plastics can be converted to a Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) which is used in cement kilns. This replaces fossil fuels, which has a positive impact in terms of lower greenhouse gas emissions.

By putting all clean dry loose plastic packaging into the recycling bin, for example bread wrappers, crisp packets, breakfast cereal bags, pasta packets, fruit and veg wrap, sweet wrappers and plastic shopping bags, we can ensure that no recyclable plastic inadvertently ends up in landfill. As technology improves and more types of plastic can be recycled, recycling system will be able to sort and pick them up without delay.

These simple changes to our recycling habits can therefore have an impact on our recycling rates. It will now be much easier for householders to sort waste – remembering, that all clean, dry and loose plastic packaging, both soft and rigid, can go into our recycling bins.

To find out more visit www.mywaste.ie

New ‘Love This Place, Leave No Trace’ Campaign Launched

• New ‘Leave No Trace’ national awareness campaign focus on littering, responsible dog management, and the dangers of campfires.
• Appeal to the public to embrace ‘Leave No Trace’ principles and look after our outdoors.
• #LoveThisPlace #LeaveNoTrace hashtags on social media.

 

A new public awareness campaign from Leave No Trace Ireland and its partners calls on the public to exercise renewed care and responsibility when outdoors in managing dogs, preventing litter, and ensuring that there are no fires unless on a designated site.

As we enter summer, Leave No Trace Ireland – Ireland’s only outdoor ethics programme which promotes the responsible use of the outdoors – is encouraging everyone to ‘Love This Place, Leave No Trace’.

The campaign is asking the public to play their part by acting responsibly so that everyone can experience and enjoy outdoor spaces while helping to protect them from increased pressures this year as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

Speaking on the launch of the ‘Love This Place, Leave No Trace’ campaign, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, said it is important that everyone who enjoys the great outdoors embraces the Leave No Trace ethos:

“As we all look forward to an outdoor summer, it’s more important than ever to protect the places we love and leave no trace. We have a duty to our environment, to wildlife and to each other to be responsible stewards of the natural world – our national parks, woodlands, rivers, beaches, mountains and everywhere in between.

“Loving nature, wildlife and the great outdoors means being thoughtful, prepared and proactive – packing a picnic rather than a disposable bbq that could cause a serious fire, bringing a bin bag to pick up rubbish that could otherwise harm wildlife, keeping dogs on leads rather than letting them go and potentially worrying farm animals or breeding birds, keeping our distance from wild birds, mammals and marine life and observing them without disturbing or disrupting them.

“As more of us seek the beauty, exhilaration and escapism of outdoor recreation, our collective impact on the environment also increases. By being responsible and leaving no trace, we can help the wild places and species we love to stay wild.”

The campaign focuses on three critical pressure points which have become increasingly evident as greater numbers of people ‘stay-cation’ and use outdoor public spaces for recreation during the Covid pandemic. These pressure points include increased littering of the countryside and outdoor spaces, an increase in dog fouling, dog worrying and attacks on farm livestock as the numbers of pet dogs approaches an estimated 800,000, and the devastation that can be caused by fires from campfires and barbeques that get out of control.

The Love This Place, Leave No Trace campaign will emphasise several key messages:

Littering: 

1. Plan ahead and always pack a bin bag with you when heading outdoors. By taking your rubbish home with you, you are playing your part in keeping our outdoor spaces litter free and beautiful.

Responsible Dog Ownership and Control:

1. Always pick up after your dog, bag it and safely bin it, or bring it home with you.
2. Keeping your dog on a lead shows consideration for others and avoids disturbing livestock and wildlife.

Campfires, and Disposable BBQs:

1. No fires unless on a designated site. You should not light a campfire unless you have permission from the landowner.
2. If you are at a designated site, where campfires are permitted, make sure you have the skills for setting and using campfires. See org for detailed guidance on using campfires safely.
3. Do not use disposable BBQs.

Information and guidelines for individuals, communities and organisations are available from https://www.leavenotraceireland.org/love-this-place-leave-no-trace.  where you can also show your support and take the Love This Place, Leave No Trace Pledge.

Monaghan County Council has published a Baseline Study Report on the Poultry Sector within Co. Monaghan, prepared by Fehily Timoney Consultants.

The report quantifies the scale and importance of the poultry sector in the county and seeks to stimulate initiatives to allow the industry to develop in the coming decade.

Click here to read the Baseline Study Poultry Sector Co.Monaghan July 2021 PDF>>

Click on the link to hear Cathaoirleach Cllr Aidan Campbell and Sharon Finnegan EAO speaking with Noel Murphy,  Agriview, Northern Sound:

Top Tips this Picnic Season if you are heading out and about – https://www.mywaste.ie/news/prepare-to-picnic/

 

 

Monaghan County council have two Recycling Centres, operated on a concession based contract by McElvaney Waste and Recycling. Both facilities take more than just paper and plastic. Check out a video that was commissioned by Environmental Services to highlight the facilities.

The local Tidy Town Committee has been involved in a major sustainability programme since the beginning of the year. The programme has many different facets to it which the committee will be highlighting throughout the summer months. One of the first elements was an awareness campaign concerning the litter problem relating to the disposal of coffee cups along the streets and roadways. The problem has reached gargantuan proportions nationwide in recent years so Carrickmacross Tidy Town Committee decided to lead the way in improving the situation and called in the assistance of the Local Environment Officer, Nial O’Connor. The end result was extremely productive and Carrickmacross set a headline for the rest of the country as far back as February 2018 when the Tidy Town Committee met with eleven establishments in the town that use coffee cups.

At this joint meeting each of the establishments undertook to get involved in the Conscious Cup campaign locally by creating an environmental awareness around using reusable and compostable coffee cups. Sample re-usable coffee cups were distributed to each establishment and highlighted in a video campaign which can be seen online. The eleven coffee shops and filling stations vigorously promoted the idea and as an incentive are allowing a 10 cent reduction for customers who bring their own re-usable coffee cups thus reducing the usage of disposable cups and consequently enhancing the local environment.

Obviously the success of the campaign will ultimately be determined by the reduction of disposable cups along our streets and roadways and the increased use of compostable and re-usable cups. The Tidy Town Committee wishes to thank the businesses who took a very responsible and positive lead in the campaign which will improve our sustainability as a local community. The committee is also grateful to Niall O’Connor of Monaghan County Council for his advice and involvement in the project. The campaign shows, yet again, that when voluntary and statutory groups work hand in hand with business and industry significant progress can be made in improving the local environment. Please ask your local coffee outlet if they are involved in the campaign and do your bit for Carrickmacross. Another first for our progressive Tidy Town Committee in Carrickmacross.

Anita Cassidy and Gerry Hand (Tidy Towns Committee)	Claudine from Dinkins and Nial O’Connor from Monaghan County Council
Stephen from Homebake Café and Nial O’Connor from Monaghan County Council	Richard and Caroline from Hughes Coffee Shop
Siobhan from James Bernard Ireland with Gerry Hand (Tidy Towns)	Breda McGuigan (Tidy Towns) with Stephen from Matildas Bakery & Delicatessen
Gerry Hand (Tidy Towns) with Carol from Name it cafe	Sean from Sean’s Deli with Breda (Tidy Towns)
Cathal and Karen from O’Gorman’s SuperValu and Gerry Hand (Tidy Towns)	Paul and Seamus from Tir Chonaill S.S