Zero waste target for Food Festival’s taste trail

THE waste that has to be dumped in landfill sites after the Dingle Food Festival Taste Trail could be dramatically reduced, according to the Transition Towns Chorca Dhuibhne (TTCD) group which aims to make the taste trail a cleaner and greener event over the next five years.

According to Darrach Ó Murchú of TTCD, something in the order of 300,000 individual pieces of rubbish are left behind by the thousands of people who tour Dingle on the hugely popular Food Festival Taste Trail.

Over the years Kerry County Council has provided recycling bins but people didn’t always put their rubbish in the right bins and the whole lot finished up going to landfill, which was a poor result from an environmental point of view.

Last year TTCD stepped in and provided ‘treoraí’ (guides) to help people put their compostable, recyclable and non-recyclable rubbish in the proper bins. This helped cut down on the amount of rubbish going to landfill and, in co-operation with Kerry County Council, they also provided 5,000 compostable plates, cups and cutlery to taste trail venues. This year they’re going a step further, providing low cost compostable tableware to market stall holders at the food festival.

Over the course of five years, they aim to completely eliminate waste going to landfill after the festival. It’s an ambitious goal but TTCD, working in cooperation with Food Festival organisers and Kerry County Council, believe it’s achievable.

One of the innovations being introduced to this year’s taste trail is ‘festival packs’, containing bamboo tableware and cutlery which can be used, washed at ‘rinse stations’ that are being provided around the town, and then re-used. TTCD is supplying 500 packs, which will be on sale for €10 in the Food Festival office and at Dingle Farmer’s market on the Friday of the festival. The council is providing cotton bags for the bamboo tableware, which is said to survive 3,000 visits to the dishwasher so they should make a good environmental investment for regular taste trailers who’ll be able to knock years of use out of them.

Meanwhile, TTCD needs volunteers to help with the recycling effort at the festival. Contact Darrach at 087 2153758.