The Environment Section has responsibility for over 500 statutory functions, which are contained within over 100 pieces of legislation. The key areas dealt with include:

• Waste Management
• Water Quality & Pollution Control
• Education & Awareness
• Veterinary Services
• Burial Grounds

 

Waste Management

Dunmore Landfill

Final restoration works on the Council's closed landfill at Dunmore were almost complete by the end of 2010. Topsoiling and seeding will be completed in early 2011. The adjacent Civic Amenity Site continues to operate and extended facilities have been provided to cater for additional waste for disposal as a result of the landfill closure.

 

Waste Collection Permits

Kilkenny County Council is the issuing authority for Waste Collection Permits for the South East Region, comprising Carlow County Council, Kilkenny County Council, South Tipperary County Council, Waterford City Council, Waterford County Council and Wexford County Council. A total of 331 applications have been granted to the end of 2010 with 23 applications granted during 2010. Reviews of existing waste collection permits are also ongoing.

All waste collection permits holders issued with a waste collection permit are required to submit an AR before the 28th February each year for waste collection activities relating to the previous year. A new On-Line AR (Annual Return) System has been developed and is in place in Kilkenny County Council since February, 2010. All ARs are now submitted on line.

The Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations, 2007 and the Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations, 2008 were implemented on the 1st June, 2008. A multi-regional waste collection permit system has been established whereby the permit holder may now apply to the nominated authority where the principal waste collection activity is to be carried out and also the permit holder may decide to have some or all of any existing waste collection permits in the various regions reviewed or make an application for a permit for the collection of waste in additional regions.

 

Recycling

The Section operates more than forty bring centres in the county. In a new value for money initiative, the South East Region is in the process of tendering for a recycling service contract which will serve the full recycling needs of the Region. The maintenance cleaning contract continues to greatly improve the area surrounding the bring centres. The Community Bottle Bank Scheme continued with 10 communities taking care of their own local bring centres.

Three WEEE days were organised in 2010 which serviced Kilkenny City and 6 other locations in the County. Over 93 tonnes of electrical and electronic appliances were collected for recycling in association with WEEE Ireland.

 

Enforcement

In total, there were 1281 Environmental Complaints received by the Council in 2010. Illegal dumping accounted for 897, abandoned vehicles 99, Cars for sale 11, unauthorised waste activities 50, illegal burning 45, Bring Banks 24, Litter/street cleaning 65, Signage 11, Water Pollution 35 and Dogs 13.

In 2010 there were 189 Litter Fines issued under the Litter Pollution Acts 1997-2009. In addition, there were 4 prosecutions initiated under this legislation.

Under the Waste Management Acts 1996-2010, there were 20 notices issued of which 6 resulted in the initiation of prosecution proceedings.

In 2010 the Environment Section carried out 606 inspections of waste incidents and 162 inspections concerned with litter.

The Environment Team carry out routine inspections which included 150 routine litter patrols, 36 inspections of waste permitted facilities, 118 inspections of tyre outlets, 5 inspections of hazardous waste.

Under air legislation there were 7 inspections of fuel distributors, 34 inspections under the Deco Paint Regulations and 8 inspections under the Solvents Regulations.

The Enforcement Team carry out producer responsibility inspections including 47 ELV inspections, 4 inspections of farm plastics, 97 for the plastic bag levy and 42 of battery outlets.

 

Joint Waste Management Plan (JWMP) for South East Region, 2006 - 2011

The Plan is due for review in 2011. A full review is likely to be deferred pending the finalisation of revised national waste policy.

 

Litter Management

The Litter Management Plan covers the period 2008 - 2011. A number of initiatives took place in 2010 to raise the awareness of the impact of litter on local communities.

• South East Anti Litter Week

SE Anti Litter Week was held the same week as National Heritage Week with the tag line "Don't Rubbish our Heritage". A competition was held in all local newspapers and 2 street events were organised for Kilkenny City.

Bui Bolg street performers on High Street as part of Anti Litter Week.

 

The end of the campaign was marked by a litter awareness stand at the Iverk Agricultural Show in Piltown. This was organised by the Awareness Officers of the South East Region. The issue of cigarette butts was highlighted with mobile ashtrays presented to smokers.

SE Regional Awareness Officers at the Iverk Show, Piltown.

 

• Team Up to Clean Up Kilkenny

The Environment Section received Citation of Best Practice from the Chamber's of Ireland Excellence in Local Government Award 2010 for project "Team up to Clean Up Kilkenny" which promoted litter picks throughout the summer between the community, office staff of the Local Authority and local councillors.

Brian Tyrrell, Lisa Russell and Kevin Hanley completing a litter pick on the Waterford Road

 

• National Spring Clean

100 groups in the city and county registered with the National Spring Clean to complete a community clean up in 2010.

 

• Tidy Towns

The Environment Section remains supportive to groups who participate in the national Tidy Towns competition. 6 information sessions were organised throughout the county in 2010 to allow groups to meet with a tidy town's adjudicator for advice and to discuss elements of the competition.

 

• Local Authority Prevention Network Programme

The Environment Section continues to promote waste prevention in the home and in businesses. Two food waste audits were completed as part of the programme and a business seminar was organised in association with Cré. The seminar highlighted the potential cash savings regarding food waste prevention and publicised the new regulations that came into effect in 2010 and the impacts for business in relation to the disposal of food waste.

 

 

Water Quality & Pollution Control

Water Framework Directive & River Basin Management

The EU Water Framework Directive is an important piece of EU environmental legislation which aims at improving our water environment. It requires governments to take a new holistic approach to managing their waters. It applies to rivers, lakes, groundwater, estuaries and costal waters. Member States must aim to achieve at least good status in all waters and must ensure that status does not deteriorate in any waters.

The Water Framework Directive establishes water management at the level of river basins. The River Basin District Management Scheme has been set up to establish an Integrated Monitoring & Management System for all waters within the South Eastern River Basin District. Kilkenny County Council, along with other sectoral interests in the south east of Ireland is part of the management structure for this River Basin Project. A dynamic programme of management measures has been finalised as part of the River Basin Management Plan. The Draft Plan for the South Eastern River Basin District was published in December 2008 and finally adopted in 2010.

 

Pollution Control and Enforcement

Kilkenny County Council's Water Quality Team routinely undertakes targeted farm inspections and river bank surveys in order to identify and mitigate instances of pollution and therefore maintain or achieve Good Water Quality Status for all waters (surface waters, groundwaters, estuarine and coastal waters). In 2010 farm surveys were prioritised in the areas around public water supplies in the interests of public health.

The Environment Section issues and enforces discharge licences for discharges of trade effluents to waters and to the public sewers. Inspections of licensed premises are carried out routinely.

 

 

Education and Awareness

In 2010, the Environment Section co-ordinated activities county-wide for Repak Recycling Week, National Spring Clean, Energy Awareness Week and EU Waste Prevention Week.

The Environment Section administered a number of grant schemes including Anti- Litter Awareness Grants, Local Agenda 21, Environmental Partnership Fund and the Community Bottle Bank Scheme.

 

Green Schools Programme
The Green Flag is the most prestigious award that a school can achieve and is awarded to schools that take action to improve their local environment.

The Environmental Awareness Officer provides local support to schools and also completes the assessment for the award. Last November a green school information evening was hosted by Kilkenny County Council which was aimed at parents and teachers. Participation rates are high in Kilkenny with 88% of all schools participating in the programme. The county now has 35 Green Flag schools.

The Environmental Awareness Officer completed 40 school visits in 2010 and organised additional educational visits Waste Construction and Sustainable Living Workshops.

 

EcoChat on KCLR96FM
This joint initiative continues between Kilkenny & Carlow County Councils in conjunction with KCLR96FM. The Environmental Awareness Officers go live on air every fortnight to discuss different environmental topics. The segment is called "EcoChat" and is aired after the 11am news on the programme "On the Record" with Sue Nunn.

 

Climate Change
The Environment Section continues to raise awareness of climate change and provides practical information on how to conserve energy. In 2010 a number of public events were organised in association with Carlow Kilkenny Energy Agency through the library service.

Bernadette Moloney, the Environmental Awareness Officer with Speaker, Gavin Harte at the Climate for Change
public session which over 300 secondary pupils attended in November 2010 as part of EU Waste Reduction Week

 

 

Veterinary Services

The Veterinary Service fulfils the food safety service contract between the FSAI and Kilkenny County Council. The Veterinary Public Health and animal welfare functions include providing official controls/regulation of slaughterhouses and small meat processing plants, and small poultry slaughtering plants (includes on farm slaughter of poultry i.e. seasonal slaughter). Other functions include interagency working e.g. attendance of South East Regional Zoonoses Committee meetings (the County Veterinary Officer is the South East Rep on the National Zoonoses Committee), participation in FSAI Working Groups, participation in multidisciplinary Disease Outbreak Control Teams where appropriate, response to food incidents etc. The service is subject to internal audits i.e. from Veterinary Service of other Local Authorities and external audits from the Food and Veterinary Office of the EU and the FSAI.

Slaughterhouses under the service's supervision in 2010 slaughtered 3,920 Cattle, 18,716 Sheep and 327 Pigs. These slaughterhouses are low - medium throughput slaughterhouses, which facilitates animals to be born, reared and slaughtered in a local area thus reducing transport stress on the animal (which is good animal welfare practice) and reduces pathogen shedding. Enabling meat and meat products which are produced locally to be sold and consumed locally. Official controls provide that each animal slaughtered for human consumption requires an ante mortem inspection and post mortem inspection, microbiological sampling, national residue sampling, audits on hygiene practices, implementation of HACCP, animal welfare audits etc.

The service supervises small/medium meat processing plants in the county. There is a range of meat processing activities occurring in such premises from storage and distribution, to manufacture of sausages, to the cutting and curing of meat etc. All require veterinary supervision under EU legislation. Frequency of Official Controls are carried out by risk assessment and include hygiene inspections, audits on the implementation of HACCP, microbiological sampling etc.

The Service is involved in the veterinary and animal welfare issues in the Control of Horses and Control of Dogs. The Control of Horses Enforcement Team impounded 92 horses and licensed 51 horses in 2010. In 2010, there were 7,209 individual dogs licensed and 32 Group Dog Licences were issued for the county. Dog licensing is a team collaboration between the Dog Warden Service (ISPCA) and staff in the Environment Section.

 

Burial Grounds

Kilkenny County Council has 14 open and active Burial Grounds across the County with each having a Caretaker in place to manage the record keeping.

New burial ground maps continue to be developed and are distributed to the Caretakers on completion.

 

 

 

Kilkenny County Council in partnership with every citizen in the County has a crucial role to play in the protection of our natural environment. The core objective of the Corporate Plan for the Environment Section is to promote and nurture the environment for the benefit of the current and future generations. With ever increasing pressures through economic development, growth in population and the change in living standards impacting upon our environment, the Local Authority is pivotally positioned to ensure through advice, education and enforcement that our environment is properly protected.

Kilkenny County Council and all local authorities are responsible for in excess of 500 environmental protection functions under the headings of air, noise, planning, waste, waste water and water quality. These functions are contained within some 100 pieces of legislation. With a team of 44 staff (including indoor and outdoor staff) hard work and dedication is given by the Environment Section Team to ensure that our responsibilities and functions are fulfilled.

The key areas dealt with include:

• Waste Management
• Education & Awareness
• Water Quality
• Veterinary Services
• Parks

 

Waste Management

Dunmore Landfill

The Environment Section operates a landfill about 5km north of the City at Dunmore (Licence no. W0030-02). This is the only landfill which is operated by Kilkenny County Council. The landfill comprises 14 lined waste cells. The construction of the final two cells was completed by September 2006. Cells 1 - 12 have been filled to their capacity and filling is currently taking place in cell 13. Additional capping and restoration works commenced during 2006, this work is on going. The facility continues to operate to the highest standard.

 

Recycling

2006 was another extremely successful year for Kilkenny County Council's recycling programme. By the end of 2006, 43 bring sites were in place, accepting glass and cans. 12 of these sites accept food cans, and 1 site also accepts plastic bottles, newspapers and cardboard

The bring banks are emptied on a regular basis. However due to a small number of individuals abusing the banks for illegal dumping of household waste and the irresponsible littering of such sites, CCTV cameras have been installed at a number of sites. A covert, mobile CCTV system which can be placed at various sites around the county has also been purchased and is being deployed at a number of sites throughout the coming year. In addition, the Environment Enforcement Team regularly carries out surveillance operations in an effort to curtail illegal activity.

 

Dunmore Civic Amenity Centre

Dunmore Civic Amenity Centre continued to grow in popularity in 2006. The Centre, coupled with the widespread availability of kerbside collection has resulted in a household recycling rate for the County of 24%.

At Dunmore it is possible to deposit recyclable items such as

• Paper
  • Mixed Paper Light
  • Cardboard
• Corrugated Cardboard
• Plastics
• Light Plastic Packaging
• Plastic Bottles
• Untreated Timber
• Metal
• Glass
  • White
  • Green
  • Brown
• Textiles
• Clean Clothes
• Sheets
• Shoes
• Household Hazardous Waste
  • Aerosols
  • Medicines
  • Fluorescent Tubes
  • Paints
• Waste Oils
  • Cooking Oils
  • Engine Oils
• Batteries
  • Primary Batteries
  • Lead Acid Batteries
  • Tractor Batteries
  • Electric Fence Batteries
  • Moped Batteries
  • Golf Trolley Batteries
• Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (ALL WEEE IS FREE OF CHARGE)
  • Fridges and Freezers
  • Household appliances
  • Computers
  • Televisions
  • Video Players etc.
• Oxfam Bank
  • CDs
  • Books
• Mixed Metals
• Steel Food Cans
• Aluminium Drink Cans
• Free Christmas tree recycling takes place during the month of January; the trees are shredded and reused as landfill cover material.

 

               

 

Transfrontier Shipment of Waste

Under the requirements of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 259/93 and National Regulations SI No 149 of 1998, Waste Management (Transfrontier Shipment of Waste) Regulations, 1998, Kilkenny County Council is the Competent Authority of Dispatch for waste exports from the County. In 2006 there were 853 shipments of waste under 3 separate TFS notifications. A financial bond is put in place with Kilkenny County Council for each of these shipments to cover costs in the event of a shipment being rejected. The bonds are not released until after Kilkenny County Council had received confirmation that the waste had been recovered/disposed in an environmentally sound manner. The Environment Section participates in the national TFS working group which meets regularly to discuss and advise on TFS matters and to ensure standardisation of procedures across all local authorities, and to network with agencies in other EU countries.

 

Waste Collection Permits

Kilkenny County Council is the nominated authority in the South East Region for issuing all waste collection permits as per the Waste Management Acts 1996 - 2003 and the Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations 2001 as amended. The Region comprises Carlow County Council, South Tipperary County Council, Waterford County Council, Waterford City Council and Wexford County Council.

The primary purpose of the permitting system is to facilitate appropriate controls on commercial collection activities for the purposes of environmental protection and to facilitate the implementation and achievement of relevant objectives in the waste management plan.

Kilkenny County Council has granted a total of 348 applications since the regulations were introduced. 67 applications were granted in 2006 and 85 permits reviewed.

 

Waste Management Acts 1996 - 2003

A total of 56 Notices were issued under the Waste Management Acts 1996 - 2003 in 2006. These were for a range of unauthorised waste activities such as waste collection without a permit, burning waste, dumping waste at unauthorised sites and non-compliances with waste permits or waste collection permits.

 

Waste Management (Permit) Regulations, 1998

28 applications for waste permits were made under the Waste Management (Permit) Regulations, 1998 for facilities in County Kilkenny in 2006.

There are currently 48 permitted sites in the County. The operation of these permitted facilities was monitored by Kilkenny County Council's Environmental Enforcement Team. In all, a total of 143 inspections were carried out during the year.

Letters were sent out to each Permit Holder advising that the next site visit would be prearranged. This affords the opportunity to meet the Permit Holder on site, and discuss any issues or queries that may need addressing. Emphasis is placed on the Permit Holder bringing all relevant records to the meeting. Permit Holders are advised about the importance of the Annual Report which is required to be submitted to the Local Authority by February each year.

 

Waste Management (Packaging) Regulations, 2003

274 inspections of premises took place in 2005. Notices under Section 18 of the Waste Management Acts, and Article 22 of the Waste Management (Packaging) Regulations were served on 7 businesses that were not fulfilling their obligations under the regulations.

 

4 major producers in Kilkenny are now registered with Kilkenny County Council as 'Self Compliers' under the Waste Management (Packaging) Regulations, 2003. Other major producers took the option of joining Repak. The membership fees paid by the packaging producers are used to fund recycling initiatives by means of subsidies paid to collectors for packaging waste recycled.

 

Waste Management Plastic Bag Levy Regulations, 2001

377 inspections of business premises were carried out throughout the county to check compliance with regulations.

Abandoned Vehicles

Section 71 of the Waste Management Acts 1996 - 2003 makes it an offence to abandon a vehicle on any land. 75 letters were issued in 2006 for cases of abandoned vehicles. Any costs incurred by Kilkenny County Council in the removal of abandoned vehicles is passed to the offender where they can be identified.

 

General

There were 337 inspections carried out in relation to illegal dumping in 2006. There were 82 inspections in relation to illegal burning. There were 7 inspections in relation to discharge licenses. Other enforcement action included 320 inspections in relation to bring centres, 19 inspections in relation to farm plastics, 36 inspections of tyre outlets, 15 inspections in relation to asbestos, 61 inspections in relation to fuel merchants, 89 inspections of garages, 152 inspections of hotels, pubs and restaurants, 74 in relation to horses, 29 in relation to dogs, 353 in relation to litter, 14 in relation to solvents, 11 in relation to WEEE and 88 in relation to miscellaneous events.

 

Environmental Complaints

Kilkenny County Council have adopted an Environmental Complaints Procedure for Investigation and Resolution of Environmental Complaints (a copy of this procedure is available on www.kilkennycoco.ie in conjunction with the National Environmental Complaints Policy. . A number of national co-ordination meetings were attended by the Environmental Co-ordinator for Kilkenny County Council during 2006.

As part of the National Environmental Complaints Procedure a National Illegal Dumping Line was launched by the EPA on the 28th June, 2006 on a pilot basis. The concept was developed in consultation with both the local authorities and An Garda Siochana. The main purpose of the phone line is information collection. Members of the public can call the national hotline on 1850-365-121 to report, on a confidential basis if necessary, suspicions of illegal dumping in County Kilkenny both past and present. This information is then submitted to Kilkenny County Council and investigated by members of the Environmental Enforcement Team. A total of 31 reports were forwarded to the Environment Section, Kilkenny County Council via the national hotline during the last six months of 2006 and an additional 1379 environmental complaints were received directly by the Environment Section during 2006.

 

 

Education and Awareness

Litter Management Plan

Work has continued during 2006 under the Litter Management Plan 2003-2006. In addition to the resources expended on cleaning up our streets, over €185,000 was set aside for environmental education and awareness projects, most of which have an anti-litter theme.

The Free Phone Litter Hotline 1-800-200-156 received 387 calls in 2006. This is a free phone number, and facilitates the public in reporting incidences of littering and illegal dumping to the Council. The litter e-mail address litter@kilkennycoco.ie can be used for the same purpose.

 

South East Waste Management Plan 2006 - 2011

The revised South East Waste Management Plan was formally adopted in June 2006. This joint waste management plan covers the period 2006 to 2011. This constituent local authorities participating in the plan and which form the region are Kilkenny County Council, Carlow County Council, Waterford City Council, Waterford County Council, Wexford County Council and South Tipperary County Council being the lead authority for the plan. The plan is available for download on www.kilkennycoco.ie and www.wastenot.ie.

 

Public Awareness

In 2006 the Council was without an Environmental Awareness and Education Officer until the end of August.

• 24 primary and secondary schools were visited on environmental awareness issues.
• 4 Environmental talks in relation to farm waste management were given to in excess of 300 farmers in Kilkenny.
• The Farm Environmental Awards Scheme was introduced with a prize fund of over €5,000.
• A Tidy Towns Seminar was held in November 2006 All Tidy Towns and Community Groups were invited to this information evening. Guest speakers such as the Tidy Towns Judge Frank Donaldson, Emer Connolly for the Tidy Towns unit and Nuala Madigan from the IPCC gave a very practical demonstration on leaf mould, home composting and activating your wormery.
• In excess of €18,000 was given to 18 Tidy Towns and Community Groups for Anti Litter Initiatives in their area.
• 209 compost bins were sold in 2006, bringing the total sales to 5,116 or a composting rate in the county of approximately 22% through county council initiatives and subsidies. This rate is well above the national target of 7%.

 

Green Schools

The Green Flag is the most prestigious award that a school can achieve and is given to schools that take action to eliminate litter and reduce waste. Once the award has been achieved the schools then move on to address other issues such as energy and transport. The county now has a total number of 17 Schools with a Green Flag. This represents a 30% growth on 2005 figures.

A Green Schools Seminar took place in November 2006. All schools in the county received a written invitation to the Green Schools Seminar which was held in County Hall. Guest speakers included David O Leary from An Taisce, Rory McConnon from the Carlow Kilkenny Energy Agency and Nuala Madigan of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council. There were over 40 attendees on the night which proved very informative for the local schools

 

Environmental Education Programme

An Environmental Education Booking Form was sent out to every school in the County. This form is intended to show schools the education programme that is available through the Environmental Section of Kilkenny County Council. There was a tremendous response to the booking form with the Trip to the Dunmore Landfill and Civic Amenity Site proving the most popular.

 

Green Tips

This is a joint initiative between KCLR and Kilkenny County Council which sees easy examples of how people can improve their environment aired on the local radio station every day.

 

Local Agenda 21 - Environmental Competition for Schools

This competition was open to both primary and secondary schools. The topics covered were:

• The benefits of waste minimisation for your school and local community:
  • Why use fair-trade in your school and local community.
  • Energy conservation - what's involved and what's it all about.

There was a prize fund of €5,000.

 

Kilkenny Green Flag Schools 2006

School	Address	School Type
Abbey Community College	Ferrybank, Waterford	Secondary
Burnchurch National School	Cuffesgrange, Co.Kilkenny	Primary
Colaiste Mhuire	Johnstown Via Thurles, Co.Kilkenny	Secondary
Gaelscoil Osraí	Loch Bui, Co.Kilkenny	Primary
Kilkenny School Project	Springfields, Waterford Road, Kilkenny	Primary
Lisnafunchin N.S.	Lisnafunchin, Castlecomer, Co.Kilkenny	Primary
Piltown National School	Piltown, Co.Kilkenny	Primary
Presentation Convent N.S.	Castlecomer, Co.Kilkenny	Primary
Scoil Aireagail	Ballyhale, Co.Kilkenny	Secondary
Scoil an Chroi Ro-Naofa	Urlingford Via Thurles, Co.Kilkenny	Primary
Scoil Bhride Lisdowney	Lisdowney Ballyragget, Co.Kilkenny	Primary
Slieverue N.S.	Slieverue Via Waterford, Co.Kilkenny	Primary
St. Brigid's National School	Kells, Co.Kilkenny	Primary
St. Canice's Co. Ed. N.S.	Granges Road, Co.Kilkenny	Primary
St. Colman's N.S.	Conahy Jenkinstown, Co.Kilkenny	Primary
St. Eoghan's N.S.	Kilmoganny, Co.Kilkenny	Primary
St. John of God N.S.	New Street, Co.Kilkenny	Primary

 

Urlingford National School receiving their 1st Green Flag in 2006

 

National Spring Clean April 2006

Throughout the year, much time and finances were invested in organising regular clean ups by residents associations, tidy town groups, youth groups, etc. in towns, villages and rural areas in the county and the outcome was extremely successful. The policy to distribute tags/bags and other clean-up equipment instead of skips has proven to be popular and successful.

 

Waste Minimisation

• Piltown Show Environmental Stand
• Tidy Towns Seminar
• Green Schools
• Local Agenda 21 Competition
• Composting seminar
• Christmas Tree Recycling
• Farm Recycling Talks
• In house recycling and composting
• Anti Litter Initiatives with Local Community Groups

These are just some of the initiatives taken to reduce the amount of waste created in Kilkenny.

 

Fair Trade 2006

Fair Trade Fortnight - March

Kilkenny County Council had adopted a Resolution to support FAIRTRADE. Fairtrade fortnight was used to promote the use and purchase of Fairly Traded products throughout Kilkenny. Since Fairtrade fortnight only FAIRTRADE tea and coffee are served throughout County Hall

 

Mobile WEEE Collection - November 2006

    

Recycle household electrical equipment with plug or battery!
Please remember no contamination!

Kilkenny County Council identified a need for further Waste Electrical and Electronic Collections around the county. 4 mobile collection dates were organised for November 2006 as follows -

• 4th of November - Mullinavat
• 11th of November - Johnstown
• 18th of November - Mooncoin
• 25th of November - Castlecomer

This mobile WEEE collection service was FREE OF CHARGE to the householders of Kilkenny. This local service provided by Kilkenny County Council allowed the opportunity to clean out any old Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment for free e.g. dishwashers, cookers, televisions, computers, radios, hairdryers, & mobile phones.

The mobile collections were deemed a great success with over 110 Tonnes of WEEE collected over the four days. A further 250 Tonnes of WEEE was collected at Dunmore Civic Amenity Site.

 

Hazardous Waste

The Chemcar will accept: Old Medicines, Aerosols, Anti-freeze, Batteries, Bleaches, Fluorescent tubes, weed killers and garden chemicals, Oils, Paints (but not empty paint tins), Adhesives, Household/ DIY chemicals.

During 2006, Free Chemcar collections for household hazardous waste took place in Newrath, Thomastown, Callan, Paulstown, Graiguenamanagh, Piltown, Johnstown and Mullinavat. A permanent Chemcar collection facility is also provided at Dunmore Civic Amenity Site.

 

Kerbside

The fortnightly Kerbside recycling service has now become well established in Kilkenny City & County. A study carried out in 2006 indicated that 75% of residences in the city & county are now provided with a kerbside collection scheme.

 

In-house waste minimisation

In 2006 the in-house waste minimisation "Action at Work" programme continued with the support of the Council's Partnership Committee. Waste paper shredding units have been provided throughout the building as part of this initiative. Compost Caddy's have also been placed in every office to collect compostable materials. A Recycling centre has been established near the canteen to cater for the collection of Glass and Plastic bottles, Steel and Aluminium cans. This initiative will raise awareness of waste reduction and recycling initiatives within the council buildings.

 

National Recycling Week

Radio Programmes on KCLR96FM for National Repak Recycling Week "National Recycling Week ran from the 2nd - 8th of October. Competitions Prizes were given out from Monday the 2nd to Friday the 6th of October. Fairtrade hampers worth in excess of €100 were the prizes.

Theresa Butler, New Orchard, Kilkenny being presented with a beautiful Fair-trade hamper
by Olga Broderick Doyle, Environmental Awareness Officer, Kilkenny County Council

 

Repak also joined with Kilkenny County Council to promote the use of the local Bottle Banks and Civic Amenity Sites. Repak had a text competition were Kilkenny people sent in a password to be in with a chance to win a Ford Flexi car. Kilkenny County Council launched two school competitions during this week. The winner of the competitions avails of over €3,500 and will form part of the Cinema advertising campaign during 2007. During this week there were three speakers on KCLR on different days. Topics covered included an introduction to National Recycling Week, Reusable nappies and composting.

 

European Mobility Week 2006

The aim of European Mobility Week 2006 was to encourage people to choose ways of getting around that reduce their contribution to climate change. The climax of European Mobility Week was Car Free Day which was held on September the 22nd when High Street was closed off to cars from 10.30am to 4.30pm. During this time a selection of events were organised to allow Kilkenny people enjoy a day of rest from the Automobile on High Street.

• Stands from Kilkenny Cereals, Glas and the Environment Section of Kilkenny County Council.
• 'Free' Fair trade tea and coffee, biscuits and chocolates.
• Face painters and clowns.
• 3 'Free' raffles at the Environment Section Stand with in excess of 1,500 entries.
• 'Free' reusable shopping bags.
• illuminated armbands for pedestrians.
• Kilkenny People competition.
• Car Pooling Competitions.
• Internal staff competition to promote the day.

 

Grants 2006

Anti Litter Awareness Initiative Grant 18 projects were successful in obtaining grant funding. Co-funding was made available through Kilkenny County Council. The maximum grant allocated per project will be 70% of the overall cost, with the balance being met by way of local contribution.

Local Agenda 21 Environmental Partnership Fund 6 projects were successful in obtaining grant funding. Under the partnership fund, 50% of the award will come from the Department of the Environment and is matched by Kilkenny County Council. The winning projects meet the criteria under Local Agenda 21 and are non commercial.

The theme for the 2006 fund required projects to complement the Department's National Environmental Awareness Campaign - "Race against Waste" and address the issue of waste including prevention, reduction, re-use and recycling. Applicants were encouraged to link into the overall aim of Local Agenda 21 in preparing their projects.

Adopt a Bottle Bank Grant Following its successful introduction in 2005, the 'Adopt A Bottle Bank' grant was again offered in 2006. Community Groups from the following 12 areas each received a grant of €400 in respect of the upkeep and maintenance of their local bottlebank: Coon, Tullahought, Johnswell, Ballyfoyle, Ballyouskil, Ballyragget, Jenkinstown, Kells, Bennettsbridge, Knocktopher, Piltown and Johnstown.

 

 

Water Quality

The EU Water Framework Directive establishes water management at the level of river basins. All of County Kilkenny lies within the South East River Basin. The South East River Basin District Management Scheme has been set up to establish an Integrated Monitoring & Management System for all waters within the South Eastern River Basin District. Kilkenny County Council, along with other sectoral interests in the south east of Ireland, is part of the management structure for this River Basin. A dynamic programme of management measures will be developed and a River Basin Management Strategy produced.

This Strategy will be continually updated to maintain High Status where it exists and/or achieve Good Status for all water (surface freshwaters, estuarine and coastal waters and groundwater). High Status is indicative of little impact by human activity & Good Status is normally indicative of waters sustaining good ecological biodiversity. Preparation of the SERB Management Plan is being led by Carlow County Council and regular meetings of the management and steering groups take place. Pending finalisation of the Plan, all the major rivers in County Kilkenny are covered by Water Quality Plans together with being subject to the requirements of the Water Pollution Acts.

Work on the project has been ongoing. In 2005 Ireland completed the characterisation of all waters in each RBD. The country also took part in fieldwork trials to compare the quality of its waters against those of other European Member States. The work undertaken so far has set the scene by identifying the key issues that have to be addressed in the next few years. Ireland is already acting on the next steps of implementing the Directive.

Monitoring programmes were formulated in 2006 to assess the status of our waters and allow us to measure future improvements in waters resulting from management actions. Through 2007 these monitoring programmes will be progressively rolled out.

Detailed studies, focusing on understanding and managing the key pressures or activities that potentially affect Irish waters, are at different stages but will be completed in early 2007. Advisory councils have been set up to provide a structure for effective public participation.

The Council monitors 20 licences to discharge to waters and 50 licences to discharge to sewers. 10 new licences were granted and 1 licence review was completed in 2006. 2 licence reviews are pending.

14 of the county's larger industrial developments are IPC (Integrated Pollution Control) licensed by the Environmental Protection Agency.

River Water Quality Monitoring is shared between the Council's Environment Laboratory and the EPA Regional Laboratory in Kilkenny. The EPA Regional Laboratory is moving in early 2007 from the Butts Green to a new state of the art facility at Seville Lodge, Callan Road, Kilkenny. The Council's own laboratory equipment was updated in 2004 and it continues to partake in the EPA calibration scheme. A report by the EPA on River Water Quality in County Kilkenny was commissioned by Kilkenny County Council.

The Groundwater Protection for the County was completed in 2002, in association with the Geological Survey of Ireland. It is being used to assist in decision making on the location, nature and control of developments and activities in order to protect groundwater. These maps are available for inspection, by the public, in the Environment Section, County Hall. They have also become available on-line at www.gsi.ie.

Farm Surveys were carried out and pollution incidents inspected to ensure that the implementation programme in place by Kilkenny County Council to comply with the Phosphorous Regulations and Dangerous Substances Regulations is on target. The implementation programme in both Measures Reports is to ensure the continued improvement of water quality in County Kilkenny.

 

Access to Information on the Environment

1 request for access to information on the environment was received under the regulations.

 

Control of Dogs

Under the Control of Dogs Acts, 1986 & 1992 all dogs other than those used wholly for official duties by the Gardai, Defence forces or the Custom and Excise Service must be licensed. Section 2 of the Act makes it an offence for a person to keep a dog unless he/she holds a licence for that dog or a general licence covering any number of dogs at a specified premises.

Section 8 sets the fee at €12.70 per dog and the general licence fee at €253.95 and enables the Minister to increase or reduce the fees or to specify different fees for different classes of dogs. Individual licences are issued by post offices and a general licence is issued by the G.P.O., O' Connell Street, Dublin. In 2006, 3883 individual and 10 general licences were processed by The Environment Section

 

Dog Shelter

The new state of the art dog shelter was opened at Garryduff, Paulstown in May 2006. The accommodation consists of 5 kennels and one isolation unit with capacity to house a total of 20-25 dogs approximately at any one time, confined exercise yards, food preparation and storage area, veterinary room, freezer unit, public toilets and staff amenities.

 

The opening hours of the Dog Shelter at Garryduff, Paulstown, Co. Kilkenny are as follows:

• Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday - 10.00am to 1.00pm
• Saturday - 10.00am to 12.00 noon
• Tuesday & Sunday - closed
• Phone: 059 9726785

 

 

Veterinary Services

A full time veterinary officer fulfils the service contract between the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and Kilkenny County Council. Duties include the inspection of domestic abattoirs and small meat manufacturing plants, membership of regional Zoonosis Committee etc. As directed by FSAI, the service facilitates FSAI Surveillance Surveys and participation in Foodborne Outbreak Control Teams as appropriate etc. Other duties include fulfilling the Council's obligations under the Diseases of Animals Act 1966, the registration of liquid milk production holdings, disposal of animal by products etc.

 

Casual Trading

9 Casual trading areas (26 trading bays) have been designated under bye laws in the following towns and villages in the County: Castlecomer, Thomastown, Graiguenamanagh, Inistioge, Kells, Hugginstown, Glenmore, Kilmanagh & Gowran. Separate bye laws operate for the Kilkenny Borough Council area.

 

Local Authority Management System (LAMS)

LAMS was introduced to the Environment section in 2004. It is a digitised management system that provides a comprehensive library of statutory environmental protection functions. The system allows the Section to monitor and manage the large number of statutory functions it has responsibility for under environmental legislation. A number of national co-ordination meetings were attended by the LAMS Co-Ordinator for Kilkenny County Council during 2006.

 

 

Parks

Amenity Grants, 2005

In 2006 Kilkenny County Council advertised an Amenity Grant Scheme to assist voluntary bodies in the provision of amenity facilities. Preference was given to projects which were community based and which were considered to offer most benefit to the local community.

 

Playgrounds

Kilkenny County Council recently developed and will continue to maintain playgrounds at the following locations:-

• Garringreen,
• Mooncoin,
• Callan,
• Castlecomer,
• Mullinavat,
• Thomastown.

 

River Nore Linear Park

The construction of the River Nore Linear Park began in 2006 and Phase 1A has been completed. Phases 1B and 1C are currently under construction. Phase 1B is a continuation of Phase 1A, Phase 1C includes the construction of a paved entrance to the Linear Park and provision of ESB ducting to facilitate the undergrounding of overhead cables. This is part of an ongoing programme to develop a network of footpaths and cycleways along the River Nore in Kilkenny City and Environs.

 

 

Nore Valley Walking Route

Work continued on this walking route in partnership with Leader/BNS and the many landowners along the route. The route will eventually run from Kilkenny to Inistioge.

 

Village / Urban Renewal

The 8 main projects for 2006 were:

• Castlecomer - provision of amenity area at Church Avenue
• Ballyhale - provision of seating areas / under-grounding of overhead cables
• Knocktopher - provision of paved footpaths / village entrance signs
• Paulstown - Tree planting
• Rosbercon - Tree planting
• Urlingford - Shrub planting / provision of amenity area
• Kells - provision of paved footpaths in village centre and entrance to Kells Priory
• Piltown - provision of paved area in village centre / replastering of walls at Council depot / tree planting

 

Newpark Marsh

A Management Strategy for Newpark Marsh was procured in 2005 and implementation commenced in 2006. In particular a monitoring programme commenced to investigate the hydrogeology of the Marsh.

 

Development of Parks

A neighbourhood park at Garringreen commenced in 2005 and was completed in 2006. Kilkenny County Council will undertake ongoing maintenance and further developments in the park in 2007.

 

Playing Pitches

The Parks Section has developed two playing pitches located at Garringreen and Millenium Court. These pitches are available for use by local soccer clubs. An additional pitch has been completed in 2006 at Bishop Birch Place and will be available for use in 2007.

 

Woodstock Gardens

Phase three of the restoration project is now underway. Features recently reconstructed or restored include the walled garden, fountain, flower terraces, yew walk, rustic summer house (Knox's Bower), Turner Seat, Rockery, Monkey Puzzle and Noble Fir Avenues. Underway is the recreation of a circular Turner Conservatory which is due for completion in 2007.

 

National Tree Week

This was held in March 2006 and free trees were donated to local community groups to help enhance their areas.

 

 

 

The Environment Section has responsibility for over 500 statutory functions, which are contained within over 100 pieces of legislation. The key areas dealt with include:

• Waste Management
• Water Quality & Pollution Control
• Education & Awareness
• Veterinary Services
• Burial Grounds

 

Waste Management

Dunmore Landfill
The Council continues to operate the County's only landfill at Dunmore. Disposal of waste is now taking place in the final cell, Cell 14. Rehabilitation works are substantially complete on Cells 1 to 12. The landfill will close in September 2009 and post closure uses of the facility are being examined. The Civic Amenity Site will continue to operate post landfill closure and the Council will continue to manage the closed landfill as required under the EPA Waste Licence.

 

Waste Collection Permits
Kilkenny County Council is the issuing authority for Waste Collection Permits for the South East Region, comprising Carlow County Council, Kilkenny County Council, South Tipperary County Council, Waterford City Council, Waterford County Council and Wexford County Council. A total of 450 applications have been granted to the end of 2008 with 49 applications granted during 2008. Reviews of existing waste collection permits are also ongoing.

The Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations, 2007 and the Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations, 2008 were implemented on the 1st June, 2008. A multi-regional waste collection permit system has been established whereby the permit holder may now apply to the nominated authority where the principal waste collection activity is to be carried out  and also the permit holder may decide to have some or all of any existing waste collection permits in the various regions reviewed or make an application for a permit for the collection of waste in additional regions.

 

Recycling
The Section operates forty bring centres in the county. In 2008 a new cleaning contract to maintain the bring centres around the county was implemented and has greatly improved the area surrounding the bring centres. The 'Adopt a Bottle Bank' Scheme continued with 12 communities adopting their own local bring centres.

Six Chemcar locations were provided for the free collection of hazardous domestic waste in 2008.

 

Enforcement
Over 1300 non-routine inspections were carried out by environmental enforcement officers in 2008 as a result of complaints from the public and elected representatives. Illegal dumping and abandoned vehicles account for over 50% of complaints received. The table below illustrates the breakdown of environmental complaints received.

Over 500 routine inspections were carried out on waste permitted facilities, bring centres, garages, commercial premises WEEE outlets etc.

In 2008 there were 117 Litter Fines issued under the Litter Pollution Acts 1997 - 2003. In addition there were 13 successful court prosecutions, out of 13 cases taken, under the Litter Acts in 2008.

Under the Waste Management Acts 1996 - 2008, 105 statutory notices issued in 2008. 10 cases proceeded to court with 5 successfully prosecuted and an additional 5 awaiting court dates or ongoing in the courts.

2008 also saw the Council continue it's covert camera observations of known litter blackspots. The information garnered has assisted in the successful prosecution of some Litter Act cases.

 

Litter Management
The Litter Management Plan was formally adopted after a period of public consultation in autumn 2008. The plan covers the period 2008 - 2011. After the adoption of the plan a number of meetings were undertaken by the environmental awareness officer with interest groups to raise awareness of the plans objectives.

 

Joint Waste Management Plan (JWMP) for South East Region, 2006 - 2011
Progress on the implementation of the provisions of the JWMP included the development of a long term contract for the provision of integrated waste management works and services for the South East Region. The contract is expected to comprise the management of 195,000 tonnes of municipal waste per year and a public notice is now anticipated for early 2009 to advance to the pre-qualification/expressions of interest in this PPP process.

Kilkenny County Council also published draft waste collection bye-laws providing for the introduction of a three bin refuse collection service throughout all urban centres in the County with a population in excess of 1000.

 

Water Quality & Pollution Control

River Basin Management
A booklet "Water Matters" was published in June 2007. This describes the significant water management issues (SWMI) that will face the region in developing a Plan. A series of public meetings were held in November to discuss the issues and in particular to determine if any significant issues had been over-looked. Thereafter the Draft River Basin Management Plan was published which will continue on public display until June 2009.

 

Enforcement
The Council monitors 23 discharge licences to waters and 53 discharge licences to sewers. There were over 90 inspections of discharge licensed premises in 2007.

 

Farm Surveys
It is estimated that there are about 3,000 farms in Kilkenny. Each year the Council reviews the most recent EPA water quality report and selects priority catchments for investigation. During 2008 in excess of 100 farms were surveyed, 70 along the River Breagagh, 25 along the source protection area for Paulstown and approximately 30 surveys were completed as a result of environmental complaints received. In addition all notices issued to land owners during 2007 were followed.

In addition to the above, in the interests of source protection of public water supplies and consistent with the provisions of the Nitrates Regulations, Kilkenny County Council has written to all landowners whose lands adjoin abstraction points for public water supplies reminding landowners of their obligations to observe buffer zones with respect to the application of organic fertilisers. The Council's survey team also monitor these buffer zones as part of our Water Quality Programme of Works.

In 2008 Strategic Policy Committee 3 developed a good practice guidance leaflet for the maintenance of on-site waste water treatment systems. The booklet will be circulated to all relevant households in the County.

 

 

Education and Awareness

In 2008, the Environment Section co-ordinated activities county-wide for National Recycling Week, National Spring Clean, Energy Awareness Week and Car Free Day.

The Environment Section administered a number of grant schemes including; Anti-Litter Awareness Grants, Local Agenda 21 Environmental Partnership Fund Grants and the 'Adopt a Bottle Bank' Scheme.

 

Farm Environmental Awards
The 2008 winner of Kilkenny County Council's Farm Environmental Award was Mr. Tom Cody of Kilbraghan, Kilmanagh.
The competition is judged under the following four headings:

• General farm tidiness
• Waste management on the farm
• Water management on the farm
• Other on farm environmental projects

The Council intends to revamp this scheme in 2009 to provide for greater participation.

 

Public Awareness at Agricultural Shows

In 2008 the Environment Section displayed a stand at both the annual Piltown Show and the National Ploughing Championship which was held in Cuffesgrange. There was great interest at both events with staff from the Environment Section giving advice to members of the public on composting, waste minimisation etc.

Environment Section Staff at the Piltown Show

 

Green Schools Programme
The Green Flag is the most prestigious award that a school can achieve and is given to schools that take action to eliminate litter and reduce waste. Once the award has been achieved the schools then move on to address other issues such as energy, water and transport.

An information evening was hosted by Kilkenny County Council in November to allow teachers to learn more about the programme and to allow teachers to speak about their experiences in the programme. The programme is strong in Kilkenny with 68% of all primary schools registered and 80% of all secondary schools participating in the programme. The county now has a total number of 25 Schools with a Green Flag.

The Environment Section co-funded the "Waste Construction Workshop" in 2008. The show visited over 15 schools in the county teaching the pupils about the importance of waste minimisation and recycling. This workshop will continue to run in 2009.

Slieverue NS receiving their 4th green flag & their Green Home Flag which
was presented to them by An Taisce under the Green Homes Programme in May 2008

 

Climate Change Tips and Facts
Climate Change Tips and Facts was launched in September 2008. This is a joint initiative between Kilkenny & Carlow County Councils in conjunction with KCLR96FM. Four environmental tips are aired daily to tell people easy actions they can incorporate into their daily life to combat climate change. As part of this campaign 'Eco Chat' is aired every fortnight where the Environmental Awareness Officers from both Councils have an opportunity to discuss different environmental initiatives.

John Purcell (CEO of KCLR96FM) flying the flags behind Cllr. Denis Foley (Carlow Cathaoirleach)
and Cllr. Tomás Breathnach (Kilkenny Cathaoirleach) on the launch of the Climate Change Campaign

 

Gum Litter Taskforce
Kilkenny County Council participated in the Gum Litter Taskforce (GLT) in 2008. The GLT is a national campaign to raise awareness of gum litter and promote proper gum disposal behaviour.

A street campaign was organised in July in the city and free merchandise was given out to passing pedestrians. The street competition proved popular with teenagers outside City Hall were a 1m² area of pavement was covered and people were asked to guess how many pieces of gum were on the pavement. The closest guess to the actual number received an iPod nano.

 

Mobility Week 2008

The environment section of Kilkenny County Council supported Mobility Week with a family day of fun on High Street on the 29th of September 2008 to promote sustainable transport.

 

 

 

Veterinary Services

The Veterinary Service fulfils the food safety service contract between the FSAI and Kilkenny County Council. The Veterinary Public Health and animal welfare functions include providing official controls/ regulation of slaughterhouses and small meat processing plants. Others include attendance of South East Regional Zoonoses Committee meetings, participation in multidisciplinary Disease Outbreak Control Teams where appropriate, response to food incidents e.g. Pork Dioxin Incident, inspection of liquid milk producers etc.

In 2008 the Veterinary Officer was the Chair of the South East Regional Zoonoses Committee. Slaughterhouses under the service's supervision in 2008, slaughtered 3,728 Cattle, 18,686 Sheep and 1,037 Pigs. These slaughterhouses are low to medium throughput slaughterhouses which slaughter animals from their local area, and sell the meat to local people. They provide employment to people in the surrounding areas. Official controls provide that each animal slaughtered for human consumption requires an ante mortem inspection and post mortem inspection etc.

 

The Service is involved in the veterinary and animal welfare issues in the Control of Horses and Control of Dogs . The Control of Horses Enforcement Team licensed 30 horses in 2008. In 2008, there were 7,383 individual dogs licensed and 35 Group Dog Licences were issued, a substantial advancement in this particular licensing area. Dog licensing is a team collaboration between the Dog Warden Service (ISPCA) and  staff in the Environment.

Carlow / Kilkenny Dog Shelter

 

Burial Grounds

 

Kilkenny County Council has 14 open and active Burial Grounds across the County with each having a Caretaker in place to manage the record keeping.
The main features for 2008 were as follows:

• New burial ground maps are being developed and will be distributed to the Caretakers on completion. The old maps will be handed over to the County Library.
• A full audit of Burial Grounds will commence in 2009. This will advise on remaining capacity.

Clashacrow Church Yard

 

 

 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND AWARENESS

To skip to a section click on the title below:

• Waste Management
• Education & Awareness
• Water Quality
• Water Safety
• Air Quality
• Burial Grounds
• Service Indicators

 

Waste Management

Dunmore Landfill

• Dunmore Landfill received a new licence from the Environmental Protection Agency, reg. no. 30/2 to extend the life of the present site by 150,000 tonnes.
• The amount of waste deposited at the landfill reduced by 41% in 2002.
• Commercial waste deposited has reduced by 57%, with industrial waste reduced by 85%, which shows the continuing resolve of the commercial and industrial sector to comply with the Waste Management Packing Regulations and reduce the amount of waste consigned to landfill.
• Extensive development work commenced at the site including two new lined cells, a new entrance from the N77 and Kilkenny's first civic amenity site.
• Meetings with the local area committee continued to discuss the operation of the facility and disseminate information on the operation of the facility. Two newsletters were produced and distributed to the local community.
• €22,500 was collected from the gate fee at the Landfill to assist in the financing of a project to benefit the local community.
• In June 2002, a €15 government levy was applied to the gate fee. This fee is paid to central government who redistribute the money to grant aid waste management initiatives around the country. Kilkenny County Council received approval in the amount of €457,000 to develop bring facilities and the civic amenity site at Dunmore Landfill.
• In June 2002 Kilkenny County Council employed a landfill manager based on the site to ensure that the terms of the licence are being met and that the facility is being operated such as not to cause nuisance.

Fully lined Cell 11a at Dunmore Landfill, developed during 2002.

 

Waste Management Acts 1996

Ten notices under Sections 55 and 18 of the Waste Management Act, 1996 were served in 2002. In the case of seven of the sites the notices were complied with and the information provided and / or site cleared. The other cases are awaiting further information from the landowners.

Five parties were brought to court for offences under the Waste Management Act, 1996. These cases resulted in:

• in two cases - fine and costs imposed for the operation of un-authorised waste facilities.
• a substantial fine plus costs for the unauthorised storage of waste.
• a fine plus costs for the unauthorised collection of waste.
• an order to comply with a section 18 notice regarding unauthorised dumping of waste, the fine is pending in this case.

 

Waste Management (Permit) Regulations, 1998

Twenty eight applications for waste permits were made under the Waste Management (Permit) Regulations, 1998 for facilities in County Kilkenny in 2002. Seventeen waste permits were granted in 2002. The majority of these (eleven) were for the recovery of clay and topsoil to restore quarries or other unsuitable land to agricultural use.

Three were for the storage and sorting of recyclable materials at a premises and one was for a skip hire company. Permits were also granted to an automobile recycling company and for the placement of dredged river material on land. The operation of these permitted facilities was monitored by Environmental Officers from Kilkenny County Council.

 

Waste Management (Packaging) Regulations, 1997

Two major producers in Kilkenny are registered with Kilkenny County Council as 'Self Compliers' under the Waste Management (Packaging) Regulations, 1997. Seventy three companies / businesses based in County Kilkenny are members of Repak.

 

Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations, 2001

• Kilkenny County Council are the nominated authority for the South East Region: this comprises the Local Authorities - Carlow County Council, Kilkenny County Council, South Tipperary County Council, Waterford City Council, Waterford County Council and Wexford County Council.
• Companies wishing to collect waste in this region have to make an application for a Waste Collection Permit to Kilkenny County Council.
• The closing date for applications for companies continuing or proposing to collect waste was the 30th of November, 2001. An amended date of 30th June 2002 applied to those involved in the collection of slurry or residual sludge from septic tanks.
• Kilkenny County Council has received 152 applications up to 31st December, 2002. Approval has been granted to 125 of these applications to date. There have been l7 refusals including 6 who withdrew their applications, which is deemed a refusal under the Regulations.

 

Joint Waste Management Plan

There is a waste crisis both nationally and regionally due in the main to a lack of appropriate licensed facilities, increased levels of waste production and a lack of sustainable waste management practices. Waste management planning is required by law and a joint approach between authorities is Government policy. In recognition of this, the six waste authorities in the South East region prepared a Joint Waste Management Plan to tackle the issue which was adopted in County Kilkenny in June 2002. This plan is available to the public at www.wastenot.ie

 

 

Education and Awareness

Promoting Education and Awareness

Over 30 primary and secondary schools were visited on environmental awareness issues in 2002. A total of 60 community groups, farmers groups and youth groups, etc., were also visited to raise awareness of waste management, recycling, composting and anti-litter initiatives.

In conjunction with An Taisce, a pilot community-based anti-litter initiative was established in Castlecomer. An Anti-Litter Forum has been established with participation by all community and business stakeholders in the town, including the local secondary school.

In 2002 a comprehensive guide to recycling services in County Kilkenny was sent to all households in relation to waste minimisation, composting, recycling and household hazardous wastes. Later in the year a special leaflet was prepared explaining the new regulations banning the disposal of electrical and electronic waste. The leaflet encourages householders to use energy-efficient appliances and to dispose of these items carefully at our landfill site. Other materials including comprehensive composting guides were developed and distributed through schools, community groups and sales of compost bins.

A new environment section website was established in 2002 with comprehensive waste management information and contacts. The site address is www.kilkennycoco.ie/environment/index.html

Over 800 compost bins were sold in 2002, bringing the total sales to 3,300, or a composting rate in the county of nearly 17%. This programme has been very successful, and approximately 50 composting demonstrations / workshops were held around the county in conjunction with community organisations, schools and FAS schemes.

 

Green Schools

As part of the Green Schools programme, Kilkenny County Council ran a teacher's seminar and encouraged a number of new schools to get involved. Approximately 50% of all schools are now registered to participate in the Green Schools programme.

The Green Flag is the most prestigious award that a school can achieve and is given to schools that take action to eliminate litter and reduce waste. Having achieved the award, schools then move on to address other issues such as energy and transport. Kilkenny's first secondary school, Coláiste Mhuire in Johnstown and the Slieverue Girls National School achieved this award in 2002, bringing the county's total number of Green Flags to 5. Lisdowney National School also renewed their flag successfully in 2002.

2002 saw the release of a waste management video by the South Eastern Regional Authority, and over 100 copies of this video have been distributed to schools in County Kilkenny.

 

National Spring Clean April 2002

In April 2002, Kilkenny County Council undertook a major cleaning operation across the county in conjunction with local communities as part of the National Spring Clean. Throughout the year, much time and finances were invested in organising regular clean ups by residents associations, tidy town groups, youth groups, etc. in towns, villages and rural areas in the county and the outcome was extremely successful. For the first time, tags/ bags and other clean-up equipment were distributed instead of skips. This policy has proven to be popular and successful.

 

Waste Minimisation

In April 2002, Kilkenny County Council organised its first Real Nappy Week promoting washable and environmentally friendly nappies. Over 600,000 disposable nappies go to landfill every day in Ireland, and using washable nappies is an excellent example of household waste (and cost) minimisation.

 

In-house Waste Minimisation

In 2002 an in-house waste minimisation ("Green Team") was established with the support of the Council's Partnership Committee. This team will raise awareness of waste reduction and recycling initiatives within the council buildings.

 

Fair Trade Week - August 2002

In August 2002, the environmental awareness officer organised a Fair Trade Week to promote the use and purchase of Fairly Traded products within Kilkenny County Council and also the staff generally. A speaker from Oxfam visited the council and subsequently the SPC-3 committee adopted a policy supporting an awareness campaign around Fair Trade.

 

Conservations and Amenity Grants

• €25,394 was allocated to local groups e.g., residents associations, tidy towns associations etc. to help improve recreational amenities and facilities.
• €57,000 was allocated in conservation grants to encourage the preservation of items of architectural, archaeological or historical interest.

 

Recycling

2002 was an extremely successful year for Kilkenny County Council's recycling programme. By the end of 2002, 41 bring sites were in place taking glass and cans. 13 sites accepted food cans, and 5 sites accepted plastic bottles, newspapers and cardboard.

In 2002, Kilkenny County Council was declared to have the biggest increase in glass recycling by householders nationally by Rehab.

In May 2002, Kilkenny County Council applied for grants for a number of recycling projects in the county. In November 2002, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government announced grants totalling €457,000 for the development of a civic amenity site at the Dunmore landfill and the upgrading of bring banks. This grant recognised the work done to date and the work to be done by the Council in providing recycling facilities.

 

Litter control

• The Litter Warden continued with Anti-Litter Promotion in schools and businesses and Enforcement of Anti-Litter Legislation.
• A Litter Patrol Crew was employed for the summer period to keep the Environs of Kilkenny City clean.
• Tags, Bags and Litter Pickers were provided during Clean-Up Kilkenny Week to assist voluntary groups clean up their areas.
• A number of legal proceedings against unauthorised dumping were instituted.

 

Tidy Towns

There were 27 entries from Kilkenny in the National Tidy Town's Competition.

 

 

Water Quality

• The EU Water Framework Directive establishes water management at the level of river basins. All of County Kilkenny lies within the South East River Basin. The South East River Basin District Management Scheme has been set up to establish an Integrated Monitoring & Management System for all waters within the South Eastern River Basin District. Kilkenny County Council, along with other sectoral interests in the south east of Ireland, is part of the management structure for this River Basin. A dynamic programme of management measures will be developed and a River Basin Management Strategy produced.
• This Strategy will be continually updated to maintain and/or achieve Good Status for all waters (Surface freshwaters, estuarine and coastal waters and groundwater). Preparation of the SERB Management Plan is being led by Carlow County Council. The project team, including its consultants, has been put in place and regular meetings of the management steering group take place. Pending finalisation of the Plan, all the major rivers in County Kilkenny are covered by Water Quality Plans.
• The Council monitors sixteen licences to discharge to waters and nine licences to discharge to sewers. Fifteen of the county's larger industrial developments are IPC (Integrated Pollution Control) licensed by the Environmental Protection Agency.
• River Water Quality Monitoring is shared between the Council's Environment Laboratory and the EPA Regional Laboratory in Butts Green.
• A report by the EPA on River Water Quality in County Kilkenny was commissioned by Kilkenny County Council.
• The Groundwater Protection for the County was completed, in association with the Geological Survey of Ireland.

 

 

Water Safety

2002 was another successful year for Water Safety in Kilkenny. Kim Kinsella took over from Mr. Tim Butler as Water Safety Development Officer at the award ceremony for the newly qualified Lifeguards for 2002. Pat Millea, Chairman, Kilkenny County Council presented over 40 Pool Lifeguard Certificates on the night. A number of these also successfully went on to the Beach Lifeguard Course.

During Summer 2002, nine lifeguards, who were trained by Irish Water Safety, were employed by Kilkenny County Council to lifeguard a number of traditional swimming areas in Kilkenny. Mr. Eddie Hoyne, Lifeguard Supervisor, reported a very successful summer of lifeguarding with no major incidents.

During the Golfing World Championship held at Mount Juliet in 2002, four lifeguards, who were again trained by Irish Water Safety, were employed by the tournament organisers to lifeguard the river and two lakes at Mount Juliet. There professionalism was highly commended. Image shows one of the lifeguards at Mount Juliet.

Finally, 18 awards, ranging from 10-30 years, were presented, by Martin Cullen, Minister for the Environment and Local Government to 18 Kilkenny People for their voluntary commitment and contribution to Water Safety.

 

 

Air Quality

• Kilkenny County Council monitored the emissions from the premises of three licensees.
• The smokeless fuel zone within the Kilkenny Environs of Waterford City was monitored on behalf of the Council by Waterford Corporation.

 

 

Burial Grounds

• There are 170 burial grounds in County Kilkenny.
• 13 burial grounds are used on a regular basis and fees for grave spaces are charged.

 

 

Service Indicators

Litter (Combined County Council and Borough Council Areas):

• 317 - No. of On the Spot fines
• 19 - No. of Prosecutions
• 2 Full-Time & 4 Part-Time - No. of Litter Wardens
• 66 - No. of School Visits carried out
• 52 - No. of Community Groups involved in litter measures
• 20 - No. of Meetings with local business groups, Chambers Of Commerce, Repak

 

Bring facilities (Combined County Council and Borough Council Area)

• Number of locations per 5000 population - 2.63
• Number and type of facility:
  • 41 - glass and cans
  • 13 - with food cans also
  • 5 - newspapers, magazines, cardboard and plastic bottles