Horizons: Householders are being asked to separate and clean their packaging waste before recycling it this Christmas as part of the Christmas campaign of the packaging industry's recycling body, Repak. The Clean Green Christmas campaign, which begins on Monday, encourages householders to ensure glass jars and bottles are washed out and lids removed, used wrapping paper is folded to create more space in recycling bins and cardboard is kept clean and dry with plastic inserts removed.
Repak estimates that about 45 per cent of the 80,000 tonnes of used packaging generated over the Christmas period will be deposited at local authority bring centres that are co-funded by Repak members. This will include bottles, aluminium cans, plastic drinks bottles, cardboard sweet boxes, cardboard toy boxes and about 4.5 million rolls of wrapping paper. The Clean Green Christmas campaign continues until January 5th.
See repak.ie for a list of bring banks and recycling centres throughout the country. Meanwhile, householders with green bins can, of course, recycle most of the same materials in them.
Celebrate solstice in Glencree
Forest Friends Ireland/Cáirde Na Coille will host a winter solstice celebration tomorrow in Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, Glencree, Co Wicklow. Members and non-members are welcome to join in the solstice festivities which include tree planting at 2.30pm and a solstice fire at 4pm followed by an outdoor pageant. Enquires: 087-6198265. See also: forestfriends.ie
'Sunday Miscellany' live
Tune in to RTÉ Radio 1 tomorrow morning at 9.10am to hear the second programme in the new Sunday Miscellany Live series, recorded in the headquarters of the Heritage Council in Church Lane, Kilkenny. The new series is recorded in front of live audiences in public venues, giving people a chance to participate.
"Through the power of storytelling, the series provides radio listeners with a more meaningful and accessible way to express our connections to our landscape, history and sense of place," says Michael Starrett, chief executive of the Heritage Council. Details of further venues and locations in the series will be announced early next year. The series can also be listened to as a podcast. See www.rte.ie/radio1/sundaymiscellany
Building a real green house
Cultivate in Temple Bar, Dublin will host a green building course early next year. The course will explore the key principles of creating energy-efficient and sustainable buildings, from choice of materials to renewable energy options and renovations. The six-week course, which is held in association with the Environmental and Sustainable Construction Association (www.easca.ie), begins on January 28th at 7pm. Check out www.cultivate.ie for subsequent courses on solar water heating, domestic energy auditing, low-cost design and construction, and producing your own electricity. Meanwhile, the Organic Centre in Rossinver, Co Leitrim, has published its 2009 programme. Courses include a year-long (with classes one day a month in counties Clare, Wicklow and Leitrim) organic gardening course, beekeeping, baking bread, and medicinal herbs. Also, there's a new online shop on www.theorganiccentre.ie
ECOWEB
Check out the recent launch of the Burrenbeo Trust at www.burrenbeo.com. The trust is a membership-based organisation dedicated to the conservation of the unique limestone landscape of the Burren, Co Clare.
