Spring Clean Your Neighbourhood

April is National Spring Clean month, a campaign organised by An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland together with local authorities and partners across Ireland.  Now in its 21st year, the campaign encourages every sector of society to actively participate and take responsibility for litter, by conducting clean ups in their own local environment. This year, Dublin City Council is looking to focus the spring clean effort in the city to one ‘Big Community Clean-up Day’ taking place on Saturday, 30th April.

How to take part:

1. Pick the area you want to clean up (any date in April).
2. Register your event with An Taisce online by clicking here
3. Once registered you will receive a clean up kit from An Taisce
4. If you are involving other people in your clean up, plan all necessary advertising and co-ordination through meetings, pick a date for your event, and promote and inform as many different members of your wider community as possible while you wait for your pack to arrive (allow for delays – it is better for it to arrive too early than too late!).
5. Once you have a firm date and location contact the South Central Area Office at Marrowbone Lane. They will help organise the free disposal of the collect waste after your event.
6. Turn up, clean up and make a change for your community!

More on National Spring Clean at www.nationalspringclean.org

One of the biggest challenges to a cleaner city centre is the prevalence of a bag collection for household refuse. Much of the city centre depends on the use of bags. However plastic bags can be untidy and clutter footpaths, and they are also prone to being torn while on streets, often by seagulls or foxes.

A new trial underway in the city is looking to solve the problem. Bag Bins is a new initiative, being supported by Dublin City Council and Greyhound. The concept is simple: collapsible bag bins that you can place your plastic bag into to keep it tidy on the street and out of the reach of opportunistic fauna. Waste operators can then simply lift the Bag Bin when its time for collection, out pops the plastic bags and the Bag Bin can be collapsed and stored on the street in a dedicated holder ready for the next collection date.  More on the trial, including offering feedback, at www.bagbin.ie.