Posts in the "Waste" category
Plastic Bottle Rally - Let's Demand DRS!
Posted on October 31, 2019 by Claudia Tormey
Join us for a Plastic Bottle Rally 1pm November 6th!
Back in January 2018, we 'Ditched Our Plastic at the Dáil' in support of Zero Waste activist Dianne Forsythe's Uplift petition calling on government to introduce a deposit return scheme (DRS) for the recycling collection of plastic bottles in Ireland.
It took Minister for the Environment, Richard Bruton, a whole year to respond, and the best he could do was commission a study to see how DRS could operate in Ireland. (Despite existing evidence proving that it works).
Permanent link | Categories: waste • sick of plastic • deposit return scheme •
What's driving the fracking boom? Spoiler: it's plastic!
Posted on October 07, 2019 by Claudia Tormey
Last week 4,500 people took the email action to tell our politicians that we don't want to import fracked gas!
Public pressure is working! On Friday we got the debate in the Dail, and now Government must undertake a review of Irish energy security before any further support for the Shannon LNG project can proceed.
We need to keep the pressure on, to make sure the review is independent and Paris Aligned. This fight is only beginning.
If you haven't yet signed our petition to Stop Shannon LNG (the terminal planned to import gas) please take action now and share it widely with your friends.
Permanent link | Categories: climatechange • energy • waste
What's gas got to do with plastic?
Posted on October 01, 2019 by Claudia Tormey
Do you ever wonder about the link between gas and plastics?
Well the first link is that the plastic industry is owned by big oil and gas companies including DowDuPont, ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron and BP.
The second big link is that plastic is made from oil and gas!
Despite our best efforts to refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle, plastic production is set to increase 40% over the next decade.
This is because fracking is on the rise and fracked gas is the raw material that makes plastic.
Want to learn more? Check out this webinar!
The Gastivists Collective are hosting this really great webinar series to dive deeper into the links between gas and plastic, and why we need to #KeepItInTheGround to #BreakFreeFromPlastic!
Permanent link | Categories: climatechange • waste • sick of plastic •
On the Road to Plastic Free!
Posted on July 23, 2019 by Claudia Tormey
Breaking free from plastic is not just a personal journey, it's a global movement of millions of people pushing for bigger action on plastic production, consumption and waste.
And we have some good news to share!
In May 2019 the EU formally approved a pioneer legislation to curb single-use plastics and earlier this month the EU Single Use Plastic (SUP) Directive was adopted and made law. Member states, including Ireland, now have two years to adopt it into Irish law and ensure we are on track to reach its targets.
This milestone is all thanks to plastic free campaigners who demanded change from industry and government all across Europe.
Permanent link | Categories: waste • sick of plastic
Stand Up and Act for Plastic Free July!
Posted on July 08, 2019 by Claudia Tormey
It’s Plastic Free July! And we have two actions for you to help Ireland #BreakFreeFromPlastic!
Can you believe loose produce is actually more expensive than the same product wrapped in plastic? Supermarkets need to create incentives for people to do the right thing, not punish those who want to help the environment!
Permanent link | Categories: waste • sick of plastic • shop and drop • break free from plastic
Shop and Drop is driving the agenda!
Posted on April 18, 2019 by Claudia Tormey
Shop And Drop Supermarket Spree has officially been launched!
This community-led wave of on-going supermarket action kicked off on Saturday April 13th. Instead of having a single centrally-organised day of action - we’re asking communities, groups and individuals to continue the action until supermarkets implement further changes to eliminate unnecessary plastic packaging. And it's starting to have an impact already!
Oisín, Friends of the Earth Director, was invited to join the Claire Byrne Live panel on Monday night along with Repak, to discuss plastic packaging.
You can catch up here at this link.
Permanent link | Categories: waste
Shop and Drop Supermarket Spree launches this weekend!
Posted on April 12, 2019 by Claudia Tormey
Tomorrow, Saturday April 13th, is the big day - we’re launching the next wave of action on supermarket plastic packaging!
57 local actions with over 330 individuals have registered on the Sick of Plastic online platform, ready to Shop and Drop from this weekend.
The action is easy – anyone can take part!
Just do your grocery shop as normal but remove the excess plastic from your purchases after payment and place unwanted plastic in the bins provided in-store.
We now have 17,000 names on our plastic petition but want to hit 20,000 after this weekend. Groups all across the country will be collecting signatures outside supermarkets - and you can help gather signatures too!
Permanent link | Categories: waste • sick of plastic • shop and drop • break free from plastic • supermarket plastic packaging •
Sick of Plastic Supermarket Audit
Posted on January 29, 2019 by Claudia Tormey
Sick of Plasitc are ramping up the pressure on Supermarkets, it’s time they took our demands seriously. The Sick of Plastic petition now has over 16,000 names, and we want to present it to every major Supermarket in as many towns across the country as we can.
But before we approach Supermarkets again, we want to gather some data on what progress, if any, has been made. We're going to name and shame supermarkets who are refusing to act on plastic, and praise those who are taking the lead.
Can you help us find out what supermarkets are doing to tackle plastic by completing this really quick survey?
Permanent link | Categories: waste • sick of plastic • plastic free july • break free from plastic • zero waste shopping • zero waste lifestyle • plastic free shopping • supermarket audit
Friends of the Earth Newsletter, January 2019
Posted on January 28, 2019 by Claudia Tormey
Welcome to our newsletter - catch up on what we've achieved over the past few months thanks to your support, time and donations. See what we're planning next and how you can be involved!
Friends of the Earth Campaigns
Community Energy & Solar Schools
Congratulations to St Munchin's College in Limerick, our first winners of the Solar Schools competition. A fantastic group of students ready to take on the energy transition in their school!
More winners will be announced very soon - watch this space! This exciting pilot project targeted a number of areas where community energy cooperatives are already in existence. The aim of the project is to support schools and communities to power themselves with free renewable electricity generated right from their roof.
Permanent link | Categories: climatechange • energy • waste
Beat the VAT increase on coffee. Plus a new series of Eco Eye starts tonight.
Posted on January 08, 2019 by Oisín Coghlan
Happy New Year.
I'm really optimistic we can make a breakthrough this year on climate action (see below for a preview of the possibilities).
But first, a quick life hack for coffee drinkers! It hasn't been such a good New Year for those of us who look forward to a take-away coffee at some stage during the day. The VAT increase in Budget 2019 has added 9 to 18 cent to the price of a coffee since January first.
Thankfully, there's an easy way to avoid paying the new higher price.
Permanent link | Categories: climatechange • energy • waste
