Tidy Towns works ongoing in Lismore
Painting, sweeping, weeding and planting has been the main emphasis work wise over the past week for the Lismore Tidy Towns work and CE teams. The painting of the ESB junction box has been a big job as there are so many of them around town, all had to be sanded down, cleaned, undercoated and then painted, work is in progress on painting the Weigh House at Ballyrafter.
Additional pollinator friendly plants have been planted at the hotel bed and the narrow bed at New Street. The team also swept the Deanery Hill, Ferry Lane, the Triangle and around the Spout.
Good to see all of the summer festivals returning to Lismore, the first time since 2019. It started with Towers and Tales at Lismore Castle last weekend which will be followed by the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival with the opera being held in Lismore Castle and other music presentations are starting on Wednesday, 1st June and continuing until Monday, 6th June. Immrama Festival of Travel Writing starts on Thursday, 16th June and continues until Sunday, 19th June. More information on the opera and Immrama can be viewed online: blackwatervalleyoperafestival.com and lismore-immrama.com
In the past week the European Commission announced a plan for a ban on the manufacture on the use of PFAS (Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances). Those chemicals are used in the manufacture numerous consumer products. The plan is called the Restrictions Roadmap is a political commitment to use existing laws to ban the most toxic groups of chemicals. Irish environmental group VOICE is calling for an immediate ban on the manufacture on the use of PFAS in Food Contact Materials on the Irish market for the following reasons.
1. They last forever- known to persist in the environment longer than any other man-made substance
2. Some PFAS are bio accumulative- they build up organisms over time, many are toxic. Scientific studies have associated exposure to PFAS with a wide range of health affecting the immune, digestive, nervous effects, endocrine systems as well as reproduction and development
3. They contaminate our waste streams- when packaging materials break down in landfill PFAS leach into the environment where they build up in our soil and water
4. They build up and get into the food chain-if PFAS contaminated compost is used to grow crops, then the PFAS will find their way into our food chain as some PFAS accumulate in plants and vegetables
ECO TIP OF THE WEEK
Related to above do the bead test- check for liquid and oil repellency of paper, cardor moulded plant fibre packaging. In the above materials the formation of a bead indicates the likely presence of PFAS.
Using a pencil to put a small drop of olive oil- must be olive oilonto the material being checked. See if it soaks in or forms a bead. If it forms a bead it could be an indication that PFAS are in the make up of the packaging. It is up to you then to contact the supplier or contact your TD or the relevant Government Dept.