RecycleIT is a social enterprise based in Clondalkin, that collects and recycles electrical, electronic, and metal waste. They provide employment and training, while also reclaiming material that would otherwise go to landfill or incineration. Earlier this year, I arranged with RecycleIT to carry out household collections in Drimnagh. Over 3 weeks, they collected material from …
Author Archives: adminray
Picking litter in Walkinstown
The Make Walkinstown Great group started at the end of the pandemic, and has been picking litter regularly since then. We meet every two weeks, alternating between Bunting Road (opposite the Kestrel) and the Green Kitchen. We pick up huge amounts of plastic bottles and cans – let’s hope the deposit return scheme cuts out …
Community Gardens
This morning I was at the Cherry Orchard Community Garden, for a talk on Planning your Winter Vegetable Growing, organised by Dublin Community Growers. I’m a terrible gardener. I put in short bursts of activity, then do nothing for weeks. But the amazing thing is, despite my neglect, things still grow. Put a seed in …
Liffey Cycle Route
The Dublin Cycling Campaign recently held their first Liffey Cycle Route protest since early 2020. The route has been proposed, opposed, planned, and sent back to planners, many times over the last ten years. I’ve lost track of all the different drafts that have gone through, and I don’t often cycle along the Liffey, so …
Cois Abhann Biodiversity Centre
***UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2024*** A contractor was due to be appointed to the Liffey Vale biodiversity centre in the summer of this year. Unfortunately, due to staffing issues in Dublin City Council, the project tender has not been issued yet. I will update this page again when I have more news. Last year, as part of …
Wonderful Walkinstown
I’ve lived in Walkinstown with my family for over twenty years, but in some ways it took the pandemic to make me appreciate it properly. We have everything we need in the neighbourhood – parks, a library, and a great range of shops and cafes. Helping to organise the Wonderful Walkinstown Festival was one way …
Rivers and Rain
I was at a meeting in March organised by the Protection of Water Bodies office in Dublin City Council, to discuss two new trials of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) along the Dodder. As part of the EU Water Framework Directive, all rivers, lakes, and coastal waters are assessed, and given a grade from High to …
Not My Bag
Not My Bag is a film made by Beta Bajcart and Olga Tiernan, two women from Crumlin involved in the Crumlin Community Cleanup group. It looks at the use of single-use plastic, particularly in food wrapping, and the balance between individual, corporate, and political responsibility for the problems of litter and pollution. I was at …
Homes for All
My dad lived in Drimnagh when he was young. Before he was born, his family lived in a one-room tenement on Digges Street, but in the early 1940s, they moved to a newly-built Dublin Corporation house on Sperrin Road. Three bedrooms, running water and an indoor toilet, a garden of their own. As the years …
Home Energy Improvements
In October 2022, we got external insulation on our house, and added solar panels. We already had double-glazing, and I’d added more attic insulation in September. Our house went from a C rating in the summer to a B1 when the work was finished. Over the winter, we used 40% less gas than the year …