Website makes bid for green teens
Teenagers are the latest target of the Race Against Waste, with a new website launched to encourage them to reuse and recycle.
The interactive website was unveiled today in Dublin by Minister for the Environment Dick Roche, who urged youth and sports clubs to get involved in the campaign.
Challenge 360 aims to provides up-to-date information for school or club projects and lets young people test their knowledge about how waste aware they are.
Youngsters can also vote in monthly polls and enter competitions with the chance to win prizes.
“The Race Against Waste works because it is not merely an information campaign,” Mr Roche said.
“It gets out to where people are creating waste, into communities, into large organisations, into homes, giving advice and running programmes that help people to take action to reduce waste, reuse, recycle and compost.
“This new website for youth has been developed in consultation with youth groups and young people from around the country.
“This is our newest Race Against Waste programme targeted at specific audiences.
“We are confident that it will be as successful in changing peoples behaviour to waste as our other programmes are which we run for people in business, large organisations and communities,” he said.
The Race Against Waste drive aims to tackle Ireland’s waste problem, which currently sees 80% of municipal rubbish end up in landfill sites, with the national landfill capacity set to be used up in the next 10 years.
The Department of the Environment said the campaign’s information line had dealt with more than 1,200 telephone and email queries from householders and workers this year.
There have also been 10 Action at Work seminars for managers representing staff in An Garda Siochana, the Defence Forces, Health Services Executive and County Development Boards and 11 nationwide Small Change seminars for small and medium businesses.
In addition, a series of Irish language factsheets have been published on backyard burning, composting, incineration, integrated waste programmes and biological treatment.
:: For more information on waste issues, young people and youth groups can log onto www.raceagainstwaste.ie/360.
