Annual Report 2011.pdf (size 6 MB) - Offaly County Council

the existing bring bank network. This initiative is
supported with funding from the DEHLG.
We now operate three Civic Amenity Facilities (CAFs) in
Birr, Derryclure and Edenderry. These accept a wide
range of materials for recycling and compliment our
existing bring bank facilities. The Council have entered a
long term contract with a single operator to maintain
and manage all three CAFs. Mixed domestic and
biodegradable waste is now accepted at Derryclure CAF,
thus providing a one stop shop for householders.
As there is no mobile collection service for household
hazardous waste, both the facilities at Birr and
Derryclure make provisions for this type of waste.
Charges apply for all waste brought to these facilities,
with the exception of electrical items, glass packaging
and batteries.
The Council continues to promote home composting
through the sale of composting units as well as
supporting local Tidy Towns and community initiatives
through local grant aid.
Waste Management Plan
During 2011 and in conjunction with our neighbouring
counties in the Midland Waste Management Region we
completed a review of the current Waste Management
Plan.
The review concluded that the current plan can and
should be extended for a further period of three years.
The key challenge ahead for the next 3 years is the
diversion of biodegradable waste away from landfill and
to ensure that all waste collectors operating in the
county operate a pricing system that encourages the
recycling and waste minimisation.
Waste Enforcement
The Council continued to investigate all illegal waste
activities and instigate legal proceedings as appropriate.
We inspected and audited the operations of Waste
Collector Permit holders and Waste Facility Permit
Holders in the functional area including vehicles and
premises, based on a risk assessment of the operations
undertaken. This approach has ensured an effective use
of scarce resources.
Awareness Programme
Offaly County Council has continued to actively promote
environmental awareness both in the community sector
and schools. Currently we have over 65 schools
registered for the Green Flag programme and 36 of
these have received their Flag.
We are supporting communities in their efforts to
introduce community composting units into their local
villages. We also support community projects such as
anti-graffiti and hedge-laying initiatives and the Midlands
Offaly Local Authorities Annual Report 2011
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