The people of Roscommon have provided a well-timed boost for the county’s Special Olympics host town committee by emerging as the country’s top recyclers in an All-Ireland competition.
The county recorded a staggering 135 per cent increase in glass recycling levels during the month of April – the best result generated across the country.
And due to this great green effort, two Special Olympians selected by the Roscommon committee will be among 10 athletes from around the country to receive funding from Rehab Recycling Partnership under the Sponsor An Athlete programme for the forthcoming Games.
The Rehab Recycling competition is providing a total of €10,000 in sponsorship for athletes selected by the host town committees in each of the five counties registering the greatest increases in recycling levels in April compared to the same period last year.
In total some 37.5 tonnes of glass was deposited in Roscommon’s bring bank network during the month, compared to 15.97 tonnes in April 2002.
“We are delighted with Roscommon’s success”, said Bob Rowat, General Manager of the Rehab Recycling Partnership, “to increase the glass recycling levels by such a dramatic amount not only demonstrates the great support communities are showing for the Special Olympics athletes but also the increasing awareness of the need to look after our local environment. We hope that this scheme demonstrates to the public the benefits of glass recycling. Ireland still only recycles a third of the glass that is generated – that means two thirds is ending up in landfill.”
Cavan, Limerick, Cork and Louth were also recipients of €2,000 of funding for Special Olympians.
The Rehab Group is an official sponsor of the Special Olympics World Games with an agreement to support the event to the value of a quarter of a million pounds.
The Rehab Recycling Partnership is responsible for recycling around 40,000 tonnes of glass each year – that’s over 120 million individual bottles and jars. These are deposited by members of the public at Rehab’s network of 1,400 bring banks located around the country as well as being collected from pubs, clubs and other businesses.
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For further information: Monina Nagle, Bill O’Herlihy Communications (01) 6602744