The Brown Bin Service has been rolled out in the towns of Athlone, Mullingar, Kinnegad, and Moate, and accepts food and garden waste (bio-waste ).
This service was previously rolled out in Mullingar on a pilot basis, but with the adoption of the Waste Management Bye Laws in 2009 the service has been introduced in the four towns named above. The Waste Management Bye Laws require that householders in the designated areas separate bio-waste and store it separately for collection by the waste collector.
Putting food and garden waste in the brown bin reduces the amount of times you put your residual/black bin out for collection, and as the brown bin collection is cheaper and in some cases free, it will save you money. It also reduces the amount of waste going to landfill, thereby helping the environment.
A householder who is not using the services of a waste collector must ensure that compostable garden and kitchen waste is composted within the curtilage of the household, or taken to an approved recycling, collection, or treatment facility.
A promotion of the Brown Bin Service is currently underway by means of a leaflet drop to all the houses in the designated brown bin service areas, and a competition is being run locally to highlight the service.
Cllr Dollard welcomed the promotion, saying,“Not only is this service helping the environment by reducing waste from landfill but it will save people money, and it is vital that they be made aware of it and how convenient it is.”
Further information is available from your local waste collector, or contact the environment section of Westmeath County Council at (044 ) 9332226 or [email protected].
