Blog
Pay by weight Bin charges revamp long fingered
Government dithering dumps uncertainty on consumers pay-by-weight typical bin weights in EU The minority government is showing the Irish consumer two fingers today. Their inability to grasp the nettle and agree a sustainable pricing model for pay by weight bin collection charges tells the consumer that their concerns on price gouging will not be dealt…
Mobile Phone recycling – it’s your call
To Upgrade or not? With the raft of new phone models hitting the streets in the coming months (e.g Apple iPhone 7, Samsung Galaxy 7 etc) have you considered maybe not rushing ahead and upgrading , as the marketing and sales folks want us to do. We are often so obsessed with the new features…
Packaging levy and container tax proposal – Ireland
We cautiously welcome the proposals by officials in the Department of the Environment to Minister Simon Coveney, to take measures to tackle the problems of litter and landfill waste caused by consumer packaging and single use containers. (This was announced on 19th July 2016). This tax proposal for a packaging levy will also provide some…
Waste charge hikes for Pay-by-Weight : How to fight back.
With the new pay-by-weight charges coming into force on July 1, 2016, we are seeing a lot of profiteering taking place. Contracts already in place with consumers are being terminated and they are being offered new contracts with much higher overall charges in the majority of cases. But is this fair? The new regime was…
Big burners – application is back for Ringaskiddy Incinerator
Ringaskiddy Incinerator Proposal – wrong place, wrong time, wrong solution. There’s more than a whiff of toxic smoke from this project – ( Application to An Bord Pleanála by Indaver Ireland Limited for Planning Permission for a Proposed Incinerator at Ringaskiddy, County Cork An Bord Pleanála Reference PL04.PA0045) – and the arrogance exhibited by both an Bord Pleanala,…
General Election 2016- climate change recommendations
During the current recession Irish concerns for Climate Change have dropped as a priority issue for voters and politicians alike. This is understandable since all news of the Paris Cop21 agreement and the emphasis on more mundane election issues that has now ensued. One might be forgiven for thinking the Climate matters are being dealt…
Zero Waste Manifesto
Circular Economy and Zero Waste – the Manifesto. In October 2015, around 150 politicians, NGOs and business representatives gathered in Poznan for a Zero Waste Seminar to put forward a new plan for to keep resources in the economy, cut waste, and boost repair and reuse. Co-organised by the European Environmental Bureau as part of…
Eurostats expose slow progress to cut municipal waste
The latest EU Municipal Waste generation stats have been released by EuroStat. Ireland does not impress. In Ireland, we are still producing more Municipal waste per head of population than we were before the Celtic tiger boom. We are well above the EU average of 481 kg/capita throwing away on average 586 kg/capita of Municipal…
What are the Benefits of Zero Waste Policies?
Adopting ZERO WASTE principles will: Current business models that could power innovation towards a circular economy encourage ideas around alternative, resource-efficient solutions. These models showcase a range of different implementations of the new circular economy with a Zero Waste philosophy at its core. They range from closed loop recycling to service-based solutions built on material optimisation. …
Where’s the Environment fund spend gone?
Some members of Zero Waste Alliance Ireland recently had the pleasure of attending the Community Reuse Network Ireland (CRNI) 2014 conference in Dublin. Taking place during European Waste Reduction Week, the event promised interesting discussions on the role of reuse and social enterprise in the nascent Irish circular economy. So, snugly installed in the beautiful Farmleigh House in…
Reflex Project – Hope for flexible packaging recycling
Ever wondered what to do with your flexible packaging such as plastic bags, frozen food bags and crisps & confectionery wrappers? The newer confectionery wrappers looks like tinfoil but is really a plastic. So it’s great to see some industry collaboration to address this challenge. The two-year REFLEX project, funded by Innovate UK, and led…
EU Ministers block plastic bag waste progress
Shame of EU Ministers failure to cut plastic bag waste. This is not a good state of affairs to find at EU ministerial level. You see, a group of European Union (EU) Member States – including the UK, Romania, Greece, Croatia and Poland – is blocking a European Parliament proposal to reduce EU plastic bag use…
