Candidate Web Site North & East Ward   Kieran Cunnane
	East of the River
Renmore..  Mervue..  Ballybane..  Ballybritt..  Doughiska..  City Centre..  Tirellan..  Menlo..  Sandy Rd..  Riverside..  Castlegar..

To the left is New Zealand's vision - we need a similar vision in Ireland.

Race against waste information:

Race against Waste is starting to address the third of the three principles used in New Zealand. I am disappointed that the program is concentrating only on local and small scale initiatives and education. While this is vital, and we do we need to tackle things individually, the program doesn't concern itself with a "top down approach". That means from a tonnage or volume perspective, we eliminate waste in the order of what contributes most.

Top down:

Our waste Management Solution has to be a top down solution. We do this by examining graphs of the waste breakdown to see what are the biggest contributors to landfill, and also which items are most toxic and difficult to safely dispose. We then prioritise these for action from the top down.

Below are typical graphs which break down our waste stream.

The items classified as "other" need to be further broken down. The table below breaks this down further under the heading "estimated quantities of priority waste streams".

Tackling packaging waste is an huge priority. Government can really make inroads into our waste crisis by taking this on.   PCBs are low volume but highly toxic.

Packaging waste generation, disposal and recovery (2001):

As you can see, from 2001 figures, paper and cardboard was the largest packaging contributors, followed by plastic. The paper and cardboard figure is improving steadily each year, but the plastic figure is still a huge problem. Plastic is also a huge problem when examining waste toxicity. Here are some suggestions:

• Ban all plastic containers unless they are re-usable over and again.

• Set legislation for plastic and tetra-pak containers. Set legislation to change beer cans to bottles. This is already done in many regions throughout the world. The plastic bag tax first proposed by the greens has been a huge success.

• Introduce bio-degradable meat packaging. Joyces in Knocknacarra is an example of good practice. They are using a heat press paper material for their cold cuts and meats. Bio-degradable meat packaging like this should become the norm with education and encouragement.

• Force re-use of all new goods packaging, such as TV's Videos, DVDs, Kitchen appliances.

Have a look at Ireland in the following table of 2002 Beverage breakdown (re-use):

Beverage	Percentage of Containers Re-used in EU	Percentage of Containers Re-used in Ireland
Mineral Water	41.0 % (1997)	0 %
Soft drinks	38.5 % (1996)	<10 %
Beer	60.0 % (1997)	17 %
Milk	9.0 %	0 %
Wine	27.0 %	0 %

Europe also is a long way short of ideal, however, Ireland is almost at 0 in each category.

Because C&D waste is a large percentage of the overall waste, some reduction tips for this are as follows:

• Construction & Demolition (C&D) is the 2nd worst contributor, but can easily achieve up to 90% diversion is a short space of time. In the UK, C&D is recycled back into building materials, roads and footpaths.

• In Connecticut USA, the union has trained unemployed men in "deconstruction" of houses to obtain their wealth. On average $9000 US is retrieved from each house.

• In California, 22ft reused hardwood is in big demand and very valuable. The planks very high quality and rare, because the best hardwood species have used up first.

Where the Government and EU need to get tough:

The Government and the EU must make tough decisions on waste prevention in Industry. It means guidelines and enforcement. It can also mean financial incentives to "do the right thing" - the carrot as well as the stick. 

The Government must also encourage waste segregation systems in local authorities in every corner of Ireland. Some Counties well serviced by landfills don't have the same incentive to get into line. Looking at waste regionally could actually help here, because we can think about disposing of waste in Counties who are not doing their fair share.

The EU must have a common approach to waste management. We forget that almost all of the EU's member states have a similar waste crisis to Ireland's. This means that a European Task Force could be set up to come up with common goals. International incentives can also be initiated where common ground can be found. The EU must act on its own leadership not wait for the rest of the world; the waste crisis is too important not to. We can't rely on the US or the other large Countries to necessarily agree with all the European solutions. If we lead, they could see the light. Our market lead in the EU can change the rules.

Galway for a Safe Environment:

We don't get from zero to hero overnight so here are some "reduce" getting started tips:

What can more can I do ? Well, for more consumer tips visit reduce.org or http://www.moea.state.mn.us/campaign/shopping/index.html

Another interesting site is http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/reduce/catbook/index.htm

Practical ways to reuse
• Take your reusable shopping bags on all shopping trips
• If you have to use batteries, use rechargeable ones wherever you can.
• Avoid disposable products e.g. nappies, tissues, face wipes, razors, paper and plastic cups, plates and cutlery, kitchen towels, serviettes, computer cartridges, cameras.
• Use washable nappies and handkerchiefs.
• Use a refillable ink pen rather than a disposable biro.
• Reuse envelopes - purchase reuse labels.
• Take a packed lunch in a sandwich box rather than wrapping in foil.
• Pass on unwanted clothes and furniture to friends or charities and second-hand shops.
• Avoid using cling film and aluminium foil. Use a box with a lid instead.
• For brown and white goods check whether spare parts are available locally, and when items break, try to repair them rather than replacing them.
• Take old magazines to your local doctors’ or dentists’ surgery.
• Many charity shops – and Boots – will accept unwanted glasses.
• Use old jars for storage – or for when making homemade jam or chutney.