Westmeath County Council’s network of Bring Centres (bottle and clothes banks ) has experienced an unprecedented level of activity at many of its countywide locatiosn during the current COVID-19 emergency.
“We have arranged with our service provider to increase the level of servicing at these facilities, but we need help from the public too. We are asking people to bring their recyclables home with them if they visit a bring centre and find that it is full and wait until the banks have been emptied. We are also asking people not to leave their recyclables, boxes, bags or containers at the bring banks – the majority of people use the bring centres correctly and while some may think that there is nothing wrong with leaving recyclables or empty containers behind at the bring centres it is a littering offence and a fine of €150 applies,” Jonathan Deane, Senior Engineer in the Environment Department, stated.
“The Bring Centres are a wonderful local amenity and assistance from the public would be appreciated, especially in these difficult times when there are so many demands on people and services. Last year the good citizens of Westmeath recycled 1,100 tonnes of glass, 41.3 tonnes of aluminium and 62 tonnes of clothing – these are all very important resources and in recycling these we are recovering valuable materials that can be recycled. We are also reducing the demand on our limited resources such as oil and water and this is very important in our efforts to tackle climate change,” Cathaoirleach Paddy Hill, remarked.
In addition to the network of countywide Bring Centres, Westmeath County Council’s Civic Amenity Sites in Golden Island Athlone and Mullingar Business Park remain open and offer a full range of recycling facilities.
In 2019 in excess of 51,000 customers used the facilities bringing 4,147 tonnes of recyclables and waste.
Anyone wishing to report full banks can email: [email protected] or telephone 044 933 2166.
