18 October 2022
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
File photo: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Where plastic must be used it should be recycled plastic
Cork County Council is delighted to announce the return of its annual Reuse Republic event which has not taken place in recent years due to Covid. This year’s event takes place in IRD Duhallow in Newmarket on Tuesday 25th October 2022 from 2-7pm.
Taking place during National Reuse Month, the event will bring together national and local reuse initiatives to exhibit their services and showcase how individuals and communities can take action to reduce their consumption and positively impact climate. An exciting series of workshops themed around reuse and waste prevention including furniture upcycling, composting and reducing single use plastic will take place on the day. The exhibition aims to empower local homes, community groups and businesses to move away from a throw away and single use society and to bring reuse into their daily lives.
As Ireland has committed to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030, in line with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), food waste is set to be a core theme of the event. Cork celebrity chef Trisha Lewis, known on Instagram for Trisha’s Transformation, will be doing a cooking demonstration on the day to show innovative ways of reducing food waste when cooking meals at home.
Amongst the exhibitors, ReCreate Ireland will host a workshop on sustainable creativity in arts and crafts, reusing materials that would have otherwise gone to waste. Early years groups including creches, pre schools and primary schools are encouraged to come along to take part.
Circular Fashion Ireland will also host a talk on the impact of fast fashion, making more sustainable fashion choices and will be running a clothing Swap Shop, where members of the public are invited to bring their lightly worn clothes to swap for other items.
Businesses are also encouraged to attend to hear about the commercial waste campaign and how they can avail of free signage for waste segregation systems on their premises. The Southern Regional Waste Management Office will be in attendance to explain how businesses can access the materials. Other exhibitors on the day will include FoodCloud, Stop Food Waste, Composting Ireland, Peach Vintage Preloved, Sue Gifford Design, Handmade by Kata, the Rediscovery Centre and Community Reuse Network Ireland. If you are interested in exhibiting, please contact eao@corkcococo.ie
To mark the occasion, a competition will be held on the day to give sports clubs, community groups and schools a chance to win a Water Refill Station worth over €1,500 for their premises, to help them eliminate single use plastic in their communities. Only applications received on the day of the event will be accepted so everyone is encouraged to come along on the day to take part.
Speaking at the launch, Deputy Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Deirdre O’ Brien, said:
“Supporting the local community is the cornerstone of Cork County Council’s approach towards promoting a more circular economy as part of National Reuse month. The emerging ideas from our exhibitors will support our communities’ journey as we adapt to more sustainable ways of living – reducing our consumption and making better choices. We would like to extend an invitation to the general public, schools and early years settings, businesses and community groups to join us on the 25th October for the event to meet with our fantastic exhibitors and to join the workshops. We also encourage all groups to participate in our competition on the day as our one lucky winner will receive a Water Refill station for their premises.”
Chief Executive of Cork County Council Tim Lucey, said:
“We welcome the return of our popular Reuse Republic event, which will showcase some inspiring examples of initiatives in Cork County that are leading the way in the move to a circular economy. This event is a great opportunity for them to connect with the public and demonstrate the ways in which we can all bring reuse into our daily lives and in doing so have a positive climate impact. Initiatives such as this help to empower communities to take local action as we transition to a low carbon society.”
Michael Twohig, Chairperson of IRD Duhallow CLG added:
“On behalf of IRD Duhallow we are delighted to see this event being hosted here in Newmarket on the grounds of the James O’Keeffe Institute which is the base for our own social enterprises through which we are committed to supporting the move towards the circular economy. Through Duhallow Revamp we have diverted over 210 tons of furniture from landfill with over 185 tons redistributed back into the community. Our Relove Paint Initiative which is in conjunction with Cork County Council sees unwanted paint collected at Kanturk and Millstreet Civic Amenity Sites, then filtered, remixed and recoloured by our staff to make a high quality low cost paint that we are selling back into the community. A true of example of the circular economy in action. Duhallow Community Food Services is also based here and is committed to helping to reduce food waste in their daily operations. We look forward to welcoming people to Duhallow and we hope that they will be inspired to take further action in their communities.”
The event will take place on Tuesday 25th October from 2pm – 7pm at IRD Duhallow, Newmarket. A link to register for the workshops is available on the Facebook page Cork County Council Environment Department, @corkcocoenviro. Places are limited for the workshops, so it is advisable that people register in advance. To register to attend the event, visit https://www.facebook.com/corkcocoenviro/
