MyWaste.ie and Green-Schools Partnership Launched - mywaste My Waste

MyWaste.ie and Green-Schools Partnership Launched

10 Jun 2019

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Minister Richard Bruton TD celebrates launch at Our Lady of Consolation NS

Minister Richard Bruton launched the partnership between MyWaste.ie and the Green-Schools programme at Our Lady of Consolation National School, Donnycarney today. While visiting the school Minister Bruton also raised its first Green Flag, which was awarded to the school for their work on the theme of Litter & Waste.

MyWaste.ie is Ireland’s new official guide to waste management. The site has information on managing waste responsibly and efficiently in addition to resources on reducing, reusing and recycling unwanted items. The Green-Schools Programme recommends that all schools visit the My Waste website to find out more about what they can and can’t recycle in addition to learning more about where our waste goes and ways in which we can all reuse and reduce our waste.

Our Lady of Consolation National School received its first Green Flag in May. When they began working on the programme in 2016 they found a lack of awareness about waste segregation, contamination of recycling and no reuse of paper to be among their main concerns. With the establishment of their committee; audits; action days; and a comprehensive action plan the school has seen a huge reduction in the volume of waste they send to landfill and recycling. They also compost organic waste and are more aware of the need to reduce and reuse, in addition to recycling.

Speaking at Our Lady of Consolation NS, Minister Bruton praised the school for their hard work: “It’s an honour to raise the first Green Flag at Our Lady of Consolation NS today. This first flag is the beginning of a journey towards making your school a greener, more sustainable place to learn and grow. This partnership between MyWaste ie and Green-Schools will ensure that schools always have the information they need about waste reduction and reuse at their fingertips, allowing them to make informed decisions about how they handle waste in the future.”

Dr. Michael John O’Mahony is the Director of the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce, which operates the Green-Schools Programme: “Each year in Green-Schools we see schools trying their best to reduce their waste and recycle responsibly but often they’re unsure of what can and can’t be recycled or how they can dispose of unusual items. The My Waste website has put all of the information we need to share with schools in one place, making sure that the most relevant and important information is now in one place.”

Among the services provided by My Waste is a country-wide Waste Service Locator; a guide to living more sustainably; an A-Z of items and how you can reuse or recycle them responsibly and much more. 58 schools were awarded the Green Flag for Litter & Waste this year, with schools taking part diverting 2,953 tonnes of waste from landfill.