Dingle makes a clean sweep on plastic

DINGLE is leading the way in a campaign to cut back on the single-use plastic cups, cartons and packaging that litters our streets and pollutes our seas.

The Glan environmental initiative, which was officially launched in Dingle on Friday, aims to encourage businesses to cut down on single-use plastic and to use more environmentally friendly alternatives. Take-away coffee cups are a prime example, but the same thinking also applies to food packaging and even plastic drink straws – one billion of which are used and then dumped globally each year.

The initiative grew out of a conversation between Louise Overy of Dingle Oceanworld, Joe Lynch of Dingle Tidy Towns and Susan Vickers of Clean Coasts about litter and the environment. The conversation developed into the Glan (Green Local Area Network) initiative, which is already receiving a very positive reaction from Dingle businesses, according to Susan Vickers.

The initiative has been taken up by the Maharees Conservation Association who are now putting it into action and next week it will also be launched in Tralee. After that it is planned to extend the initiative throughout the country.

The primary aim of GLAN is to help businesses and individuals make small changes that will help reverse some of our over-dependency on plastic. This is done in the form of pledges, so businesses are given a list of pledges from which they choose three or more that they will carry out. Participating businesses will have a Glan sticker on their window and people are being encouraged to support their efforts.

In conjunction with the Glan project, Dingle is also piloting a ‘two minute street clean’ which encourages frequent small scale litter-picks. Kerry County Council is supporting this initiative, which is the first of its kind in the country.

“We are very excited about the possibilities Glan opens up for people who want to take positive action right now to tackle the growing tidal wave of plastic pollution that seems to be engulfing us. It allows locals to take ownership of their own consumption and set a good example to others. ‘Think local, act global’ is a bit of a cliché these days but this initiative is a perfect example,” said An Taisce’s National Spring Clean Manager, Emlyn Cullen.

Photo by Declan Representatives of Dingle Tidy Towns, the Maharees Conservation Group, Dingle Oceanworld, Dingle Peninsula Tourism Alliance and Clean Coasts launching the Glan initiative in Dingle on Friday.