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Tuesday 24th August This evening the work nights continued with a litter pick on the Main Roads as well as two volunteers operating a special machine for removing cigarette butts. While this was going on another crew were cutting back the grass verge from the Killumney Road Roundabout to Limeworth. The effect once again was fantastic and well worth the effort. This job will be completed on Thursday evening. All help appreciated. Today also saw Cork County Council commence work at the Eastgate to clean up an area which was unused and is now going to be landscaped. Also the poles for the new street lighting are being put in place so the final parts of the works are starting to come together Monday 23rd August The First Round Results of the Irish Business Against Litter Results were announced today and Ballincollig has moved up to 9th Place in the National League. Full Details on our IBAL Page Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd August Our Annual Church Gate Collection took place over this weekend in both Parish Churches. Our sincere thanks to those who collected on our behalf. Our sincere thanks also to those who contributed, your support is very much appreciated. It was very nice for our committee and volunteers to hear so many kind words of thanks and expressions of interest for the work we do. However some people have to realise what we do is on a voluntary capacity and if their area needs a clean up they cannot depend on Tidy Towns to do it for them, they have to do it for themselves.
Tuesday 17th August.
BTT Volunteers Working on Killumney Road Tuesday 10th August. It is amazing what a few determined volunteers armed with the correct equipment and energy can tackle. Tonight people saw first hand what tidy towns people can do in the space of 2 Hours. Tonight we tackled Barry's Road which runs from the Killumney Road past An Caislean and up to the Main Road. The footpath on this road is one of the most used footpaths in Ballincollig as large numbers of people use this as their walking route. People start at Quish's Supervalu head out to Coolroe Meadows and then down the Killumney Road up Barry's Road and back to Quish's again. Unfortunately the briars and weeds had taken over the footpath and people were having to step out on to the road which is extremely dangerous. Not any more as BTT cut the whole ditch back and in some parts revealed a beautiful stone wall
After the Clean up on Barry's Road
Thursday 5th August Tonight we tackled an overgrown area on the Inniscarra Road near the path which leads down to the Playground. This area has been obstructed for ages and motorists had great difficulty in seeing pedestrians and visa versa. The "BTT Hit Squad" changed all that in the space of one hour and then progressed to do a major tidy up in and around the playground. What a difference and our thanks to the resident who praised our work it meant a lot Tuesday 3rd August This evening we had 3 projects to tackle firstly the very important litter pick which covered from Quish's Supervalu to the Town Centre and the surrounding areas. Secondly 4 people tackled the wild clematis which is overhanging onto the footpath from Gaelscoil Ui Riordain to the Footbridge which leads to the Regional Park. We have received numerous complaints from people to say that they had to step off the footpath because their way was obstructed. Not any more and after filling 5 of the big bags (like Skippo Bags) the footpath is now clear and as soon as we finished it was great to see women with their buggies being able to walk down the footpath unobstructed. They then carried onto the Footpath that leads from the Inniscarra Road down to the Playground and cut this back as well although this will need another night to finish it off.
Ger Keogh & Ann O'Regan Prepare to tackle the overhanging wild clematis on Inniscarra Road The Second Picture show the fruits of their work as pedestrians can walk unobstructed
While this group was working another group were cutting back the Roundabout and surrounding areas at the EMC² Roundabout and what a difference they made. Not content with just doing that one they then moved over to the other roundabout on the road up from John A Woods in Classis. The result was incredible. All in all a very worthwhile and very rewarding evenings work. Anyone interested in assisting us or with any comments "Good or Bad" email us on ballincolligtidy@gmail.com Sunday 1st August Only another month and we will know if we have improved in the National Tidy Towns Competition and the IBAL Competition. The results for both should be out in early September so peoples are getting anxious "Watch this Space" This morning even though it was a Bank Holiday Weekend saw 25 volunteers out for the weekly Litter Pick and because of the numbers a large amount of areas were covered. The end result was that the area looked very clean. Afterwards we adjourned to the Oriel House Hotel for our normal Cup of tea or coffee and a chat which has become a very important part of the Litter Pick Thursday 29th July This evening a large number of volunteers out again and what a difference they made. Firstly they carried out a litter pick from The White Horse to the Town Centre and then covered the Car Park as well as Harrington Street and Baker Street. While this was going on another group tackled the final stages of the path from the rear of Westgate to The Paddocks and Innishmore. The result has been incredible and when Cork County Council remove all the debris we will go back to do a final clean up. We have also arranged with Cork County Council to have the public lights repaired which will make the area much brighter as the evenings become shorter.
Margaret Keogh & Kitty O'Callaghan working hard on the Eastgate Clean Up
Tuesday 27th July Tonight saw a number of volunteers tackle the overgrown area on the path at the rear of Westgate and the difference in the space of 2 hours was fantastic. We intend going back in here on Thursday evening and all help is appreciated
Sunday 25th July
Thursday 22nd July Our work night continued on the path behind Westgate while others concentrated on the large numbers of cigarette butts that are being discarded in the top and surrounding areas. One of our committee has managed to get a petrol driven collector for removing this scourge on our streets and it proved very successful Tuesday 20th July Tonight we carried out a major clean up at the rear of Westgate on the path that runs down to Innishmore. This is an ongoing project and the area has been transformed since our work started here. It has to be seen to be believed and the area is now starting to take shape Sunday 18th July 15 volunteers braved the horrific weather conditions this morning to carry out the Weekly Litter Pick. Given the bad conditions we concentrated our efforts on the Main Road from the White Horse to the Eastgate and also included the Cap Park. On top of this we managed to get the Playground and Barry's Road covered as well. Such is the dedication of these volunteers to come out in these conditions in the interests of their community. They have to be commended. Next Tuesday Night we will be carrying out another work night and will meet at 7pm in Quish's Supervalu Car Park at 7pm All assistance gratefully appreciated Friday 16th July Due to the heavy rain last night our work night was called off. If is unfortunate as we wanted to tackle the over hanging items on the wall from The Oriel House Hotel to the temporary roundabout at the entrance to Muskerry Estate and also from Gaelscoil Uí Riordain to the foot bridge to the Regional Park. Hopefully next week's weather will be more favourable. Wednesday 14th July Tonight the second round judging was completed and again the standard was high and extremely high in other cases. Some estates are going to be very disappointed with their ranking this year and the main reason is because a lot of their residents and in some cases their grass cutting contractor are dumping their grass cuttings and their hedge cuttings on the boundary areas of their estates. Some of the dumping the adjudicators have seen is incredible. People were advised that this was being marked separately this year and they did nothing about it. Other estates have made major efforts and the marking reflects this. We as a committee have invested a lot of time and effort in to running this competition and we thank those who make the effort.
Tuesday 13th July Last Sunday 25 volunteers gave an hour of their
time to assist Ballincollig Tidy Towns in
We are available to give any help or advice
we can and we can be contacted at
ballincolligtidy@gmail.com
or through Mr Pat Clarke of Ballincollig Plant and Tool Hire in
Innishmore. "BALLINCOLLIG WINS 200 TREES" Courtesy of The Evening Echo in association with Folláin Thursday 8th July Tonight's work night was called off due to the heavy rain which was unfortunate. We had intended cutting back the overhanging "wild clematis" on the wall going from Gaelscoil Uí Riordain to the Footbridge to the Regional Park. We have received numerous complaints about this overhanging from pedestrians so we will tackle it ASAP. Monday 5th July Our Sincere apologies for not updating for the last few weeks but we had some technical difficulties which have only just been sorted out thankfully so we will be back updating the site regularly. Tuesday 15th June Tonight a number of volunteers carried out a major clean up at the Greenfields Slip Road on the Ballincollig By pass in advance of the Cork Summer Show which takes place this weekend in Ballincollig. Last year an estimated 10,000 people attended and this year the numbers are expected to surpass these. The committee felt that with such large numbers coming into Ballincollig that this area needed to be tackled. The work carried out was very noticeable when completed. On this Thursday we will carry out a litter pick on the By pass and finish off the works on this area. Sunday 13th June This morning we had 25 volunteers for the weekly Sunday morning litter pick. The Town centre was in a very bad state with litter as bins were overturned the night before. We put a lot of bodies in that area as the wind had spread the papers. Also covered were the Greenfields Roundabout, Cariginarra Road, The Link Road, Poulavone roundabout to Hobbs Farm, Station Road, Spine Road, and Main Street. When all the litter was cleared we cleared kerbside weeds and cigarette butts from the main car park kerbs behind Main Street. In total we collected 76 bags and recycled 9 bags. On our project work during the week previous we had to cancel our plans on the Tuesday as the skies opened and the rain was just too heavy. Having said that two brave souls still went out on Station Road to begin the clean up for the procession. On the Thursday night however we made up for lost time. 14 volunteers turned up and we completed the road clean up on Station Road in advance of the Eucharist Procession on Saturday evening. We also cleaned Baker Street including cutting the grass margin and verges as well as a litter pick in the Town centre. The Youth House on Station Road got a blitzing with hedge cutters, strimmers and mowers. On the night we collected a total of 54 bags and recycled 44 of those. When the work was finished we headed to Inniscarra View to pick up a further 90 bags of green waste following work done in the estate by the residents. All in all a great weeks work which included the awarding of 200 mature trees to Ballincollig Tidy Towns on the Tuesday courtesy of The Evening Echo in association with Folláin. We will get the trees in the Autumn and will place them in the community at appropriate locations. The second round of the Cork
County Council Inter Litter Challenge was judged on the 3rd
of June. The first round was a disaster when Ballincollig
scored just 77 out of 100. We appealed to everybody to make a
better effort and we got that. The businesses rowed in to help
and our Town scored 89 out of 100 in the second round. Even if
we score well in the final round it is unlikely that
Ballincollig can secure a prize. However we must strive to keep
up the better standard and even try to better the marks
further. A special mention is due to Colaiste Choilm as they
scored 10 out of 10 in the schools category. Also a big thank
you to the residents of Castle Park who have made a huge effort
over the past while and they scored 9 out of 10 in the
residential category. All areas of Main Street were much
improved and of the marks lost it would appear that cigarette
butts still account for the majority of all litter. We rely
therefore on the businesses to ensure that during the day and at
the close of business the area outside their premises including
the kerbs are given a quick sweep to clear the butts. Tuesday 8th June Tonight's Clean Up had planned to tackle Station Road in advance of the Eucharist Procession which takes place this Saturday evening. Unfortunately due to heavy downpours it was postponed however 2 hardy souls braved the elements and got a lot of work done. This work is now planned for Thursday evening commencing at 7pm
Sunday 6th June Today we had 17 volunteers for the weekly Sunday morning litter pick. The areas we covered were The Town Centre as usual and the length of the two main roads, Greenfields to Kilumney Road Roundabout and from Classis to Poulavone and also including the Link Road. We collected a total of 42 bags and an xmas tree. Recycled from that total were 10 bags and 9 of those were green waste. Again this demonstrates the trend of reduced littering in Ballincollig as more ground is covered and less litter found. This is very pleasing but it would be even better if there was no litter at all. We need to continue to request that all businesses, all residents and all visitors respect the Town and surrounding areas by not littering. It is up to all of us to maintain current standards and to raise them where possible.
Thursday 3rd June Tonight we completed the works on the Roundabout near EMCfor the time being. We strimmed the centre section of the roundabout which was completely overgrown and the result was very rewarding and it now looks very well. While this was going on others swept up around the roundabout and the approach roads. Once finished here we headed into Ballincollig to collect green waste as a result of people cutting back overgrown hedges. Again while this was going on others carried out a litter pick in the Town Centre Tuesday 1st June Tonight as part of our weekly clean ups we had 15 volunteers out to help. We tackled a number of areas including the cleaning of the road from the Eastgate to the GAA Club. This road is in a very bad condition and with the volume of traffic using it on a regular basis it gives a bad impression of the area. We were hoping for assistance from the GAA Club as the vast majority of the traffic is heading to their club and the Belle of Ballincollig is about to commence. We also tackled the dead weeds at the base of the old Barrack wall from The Oriel House to the entrance to the Ballincollig Shopping Centre Car Park. Cork County Council sprayed the weeds but the dead stuff was never removed. This will be concluded on Thursday evening as time ran out for the Ladies who carried out the work. Another group tackled the Roundabout near EMC² as it in a very bad way while another group tackled the kerbside on the Kilumney Road running from near the Geenfields Roundabout past Turin Glas. In total 6 Tons yes 6 tons of soil, silt and dirt was removed. The result is very visible and well overdue. We reused all of the removed soil etc as we are developing a bed for flowers further in that road. While all of this was going on others carried out a litter pick in the Town Centre and also watered our recent plantings. A great nights work by everyone but some extra support would be fantastic. If only for 2 hours it would make a difference. Sunday 30th May Today we had 30 volunteers for the weekly Sunday morning litter pick. The spell of fine weather had broken the day before and the morning was damp. It was a worry for the committee as we had planned a major project for that morning. We were returning to the Ballincollig by-pass to conduct a litter pick and needed the weather to be somewhat reasonable. We had previously conducted a litter pick on the by-pass 5 to 7 weeks previously taking 2 Sundays and had collected over 140 bags in over 4 hours work in total. Instead of meeting at 11:00 we gathered at 9:45 and by 10:00 am we were on the Ballincollig by-pass. The operation was even better planned than previously and the volunteers worked in pairs in designated sections from Hobbs Yard at the Eastern side going west and from EMC² roundabout at the Western side going east. It is hard to believe but that entire distance was picked, both the roadside and the grass boundaries in just over one hour. The job went so well that it was decided to extend the pick heading west and the volunteers reached the very end of the by-pass near the Bridge Bar. A total of 50 bags were collected. Having done the job at hand the volunteers then descended on the Town and by midday had covered the entire length of Ballincollig from EMC² to Poulavone roundabout on both the Main Street and The Kilumney Road as well as the usual areas of the Town Centre. A further 28 bags of litter were taken and this number of bags also represents a major reduction compared with the volumes collected earlier in the year. After the very welcome cuppa it was back to work for a few committed (they should be) volunteers as there were more bags to be lifted from estate clean-ups conducted during the previous week. 33 bags of green waste were taken from various estates including Inniscarra View, Beech Road, Coolroe Meadows and Leesdale. On the estates we remind everyone that the judging is now underway for the first round. We advise that there will be a number of visits and in order to make the best impression we would ask once again that each resident take responsibility for the path and kerbside outside their own property. A quick brush up to remove any weed growth and build up of dust and dirt will make all the difference. This year we have noticed that residents are dumping green waste in boundary areas and again advise that this practice is totally illegal. In the competition marking for 2010 there is a special category dealing with this problem. Of the total available marks, approximately 15 percent will be lost if the judges find green waste dumped. So if a resident persists in dumping they will in effect rule their estate out of the prizes. On the Cork County Council Inter Town Litter Challenge it is with great disappointment that we must report that in the first round judging Ballincollig got hammered. No point in dressing up this result as we scored just 77 points out of the 100 available. The estate judged did extremely well in almost scoring full marks in their category but the areas of Main Street left us down completely. We cannot believe the amount of litter quoted in the comments of the adjudicator as our volunteers had done a litter pick the previous night. It would appear that cigarette butts would be the main problem and while we appeal to smokers to be more responsible in disposing of their butts properly we really need the help and co-operation of the businesses on the Main Street especially. Please encourage your customers not to litter and it would be ideal if each proprietor did a brush up outside including the kerb each day. In our project work during the week to Sunday 30th we were involved in kerb cleaning, grass cutting and boundary maintenance at the West End roundabout, the traffic lights at Limeworth, the traffic lights at Carrigrohane, the East Gate and all of these on the stretch from Oaklands to Station Cross. Over 2 nights we picked a trailer of hedging and 73 bags of other green waste as well as 20 bags of litter of which 1 bag was recycled. Considering the major works on Main Street the Town still looks very well overall but definitely could be better if everybody put in an effort. To all those that are currently doing their bit we say well done, keep it up and thank you. We
continue with the Tuesday and Thursday project work over the
summer period. Anyone that can spare an hour or two either
night will be most welcome. We meet at Quish’s Supervalu
carpark at 7:00pm sharp.
Tuesday 25th May Tonight 18 volunteers turned up and with these numbers we were able to cover a lot of ground. One group headed to Parknamore where a ditch needed to be cut back. Another two headed off to cut the overgrown grass between Cariginarra and the entrance to Limeworth. While another group headed to clean the stone wall between Oaklands and Station Road. The result was magnificent and the hard work really paid off. While this was going on another group carried a full litter pick around the town centre A greats nights work was done by all and well done to everyone These nights have been very successful to date and will continue every Tuesday and Thursday evenings commencing at 7pm. Sunday 23rd May This morning we had 25 volunteers out for the Sunday morning litter pick. It was a very warm morning but the level of litter was not heavy and once again the majority of the Town and surrounding roads were covered. From Apple Green through to Carrigrohane and from Greenfields through to the Kilumney Road roundabout were walked. Also covered was from Poulavone roundabout to the By-pass, on to Hobbs yard and from there on the newly resurfaced Curraheen Road to Maglin Bridge and back to Station Cross via Maglin Road. All the Town Centre was covered. In the hour we picked 42 bags in total and from that we segregated 10 bags for recycling. Estate clean-ups produced a further 27 bags of green waste. Westcourt Heights are clearing a boundary area and doing a fine job. Our thanks to the volunteer picking in the Regional Park as the area is looking very well and litter free for the most part. Dog fouling is still a problem in the Regional Park and we must remind dog owners that they are responsible for picking up after the dog has done its business. Our project work continued during the week and on Thursday we had 15 volunteers giving one to two hours to assist in various projects. Grass was cut near the Eastgate in an area we cleared last year. We also cut verges on Leo Murphy / Link Road. Kerbs were cleared at the West Village and at other locations. The work of the previous week at the Tidy Towns bronze signs locations was completed with the planting of bedding plants. After a busy night we had just 4 bags of litter but we had 24 bags of green waste. It is our intention to continue with the Tuesday and Thursday project work over the summer period. Anyone that can spare an hour or two either night will be most welcome. We meet at Quish’s Supervalu car park at 7:00pm sharp. Ballincollig Tidy Towns estates competition judging is now beginning. Our other competitions are also underway and we would like to ask all residents and businesses to make a special effort to clear outside their homes and workplaces. If everyone does their own piece it can only enhance the area and as well as looking good for judging it frees our volunteers to get to more projects and common areas. We remind residents that as regards the appearance of gardens and homes we would ask residents to keep them litter free, with the grass cut and flowerbeds free of weeds as much as possible. Any hedges that are encroaching on footpaths need to be cut back as they could be a hazard for pedestrians and cause accidents or injuries. Full Details are available on Local Competitions 2010 CLICK FOR DETAILS
Friday 21st May Last evening our Chairman received a phone call to advise him that Ballincollig was the winner of The Evening Echo Competition which was run in association with Folláin. The Evening Echo in association with Folláin were offering 200 trees to the Community or Voluntary Group who collected the most Tokens from the Evening Echo between Monday 26th April and Friday 7th May. We teamed up with Ballincollig Business Association as well as our many volunteers and families work colleagues to try and collect as many tokens as possible to be in with a chance of winning these trees for the community. We got a great reaction and the end result is that the community of Ballincollig will now gain from this great prize. We will be contacted next week so that the trees can be presented etc. Our thanks to everyone who helped us.
Thursday 20th May Worknight this evening commencing at 7pm. Meet at Quishe's Supervalu car park and people will be then allocated work areas. All help appreciated "Many hands make light work" Wednesday 19th May Congratulations and well done to the estates who are making a big effort by carrying out Clean Up's etc. The effect is very noticeable and very worthwhile. The standard has certainly improved and there will be some interesting times ahead when the judging commences!!!!!
Tuesday 18th May Unfortunately due to the rain this evening we had to cancel our worknight. But it is all systems go for Thursday evening at 7pm
Monday 17th May The fine weather for most of last week has seen a further increase in people participating in estate clean-ups and saw the beginning of the Tidy Towns project evenings for the summer period. Dealing first with the Sunday morning litter pick we are grateful that the numbers turning out is remaining high and yet again this year we had a new volunteer to help us out. Over the last 6 months or so we have seen a great increase in the number of volunteers willing to commit some of their time to help the committee and more importantly to help improve the appearance of the area they live in. Last Sunday 25 volunteers covered a large area of the Town and surrounding roads and collected a total of 46 bags and recycled 1 of those. Also on Sunday the bags from estate clean-ups were collected from pre-designated areas and this meant an early start for a few able bodies. A total of 91 bags of green waste were taken up and some of the bags were very heavy. We would ask that the bags would not be filled too much as if they are too heavy it makes the collection much harder for the volunteers. We ask you to please continue with the great work and let us know if we can help with collections or any other related matter. Well done to the residents off Avoncourt and Wyndham Downs for their hard work last week, the visual result is fantastic. The local competition judging starts in earnest in a weeks time and we would like to ask all residents and businesses to make a special effort to clear outside their homes and workplaces. Usually silt and leaves can have built up against the base of walls and this leads to weed growth as well as being unsightly. If everyone does their own piece it can only enhance the area and frees our volunteers to get to more projects and common areas. We realise that where road works are in progress that it is very difficult to maintain the base of walls and kerbs but we would consider any effort still worthwhile and definitely making a difference. As regards the appearance of gardens and homes we would ask residents to keep them litter free, with the grass cut and flowerbeds free of weeds as much as possible. Any hedges that are encroaching on footpaths need to be cut back as they could be a hazard for pedestrians and cause accidents or injuries. All our schools have put in a great effort over the last year and the gardens and waste management activities are an inspiration to the children and to us. We perhaps take them for granted and do not give them enough recognition for the work they do outside the traditional academic studies. So to all our principals, teachers, caretakers and pupils we in the Tidy Towns say a big thank you. For the evening project work on Tuesdays and Thursdays we began last week by clearing some overgrown areas and setting up some flowerbeds at the Bronze Medal signs that are located on the entrances to Ballincollig. On these evenings we meet up at 7:00 pm at Quish’s Supervalu car park to get our assignments. We would welcome anybody that can spare any time on any of those evenings to lend a hand. Friday 14th May Congratulations to the Green Flag Team in Scoil Eoin who were awarded their 4th Green Flag this morning. This is a fantastic achievement by the school and one that they can be very proud of "WELL DONE SCOIL EOIN"
Thursday 13th May Tonight saw group of volunteers out for a worknight. Some people tackled litter while others continued placing the stones and topsoil around the Bronze Medal Signs. We also tackled the roundabout at the back of Greenfields and what a difference it made. While all of this was going on another of our volunteers was grass cutting from Muskerry Estate to The White Horse on both sides of the road. If she had enough petrol she could have ended up in Ovens Also our tokens for the Evening Echo / Folláin Trees Competition were dropped into the Evening Echo Office. Our thanks to everyone who supported our effort. All of our committee and our volunteers play a very important role and no matter how much time they give it is all very worthwhile and much appreciated. Tuesday 11th May Tonight we carried out the first of our Weekly Tuesday Night Worknights and our thanks to those who turned up. We tackled 4 areas namely a Litter Pick in the Town Centre, Grass Cutting on the Western Roundabout, Cleaning of kerbs and walls in the Coolroe Area and began making small flower beds around the National Tidy Towns Bronze Medal Signs at the approach to the town. The planting is the initiative of some of our volunteers and will enhance these signs even further. Our next Work Night is Thursday at 7pm and those interested in attending are asked to meet at Quish's Supervalu Car Park at 7pm Monday 10th May Tonight we took a tour of the Estates in Ballincollig to see what the standard was like and everyone was very impressed. Estates that were down the rankings last year have made a big effort which is very noticeable. Unfortunately estates that traditionally have had a good standard have slipped. One area which is a cause of concern for us is the level of dumping of Green Waste in estates. This is a major problem and those caught doing it can face a fine of €150 from the Anti Litter Unit of Cork County Council The competition gets underway shortly and we will be letting people aware of the criteria this weekend. Sunday 9th May This morning we had a very busy morning. Some of the committee began early with collections from some of the estates that had conducted clean-ups during the week. For the rest the usual start time of 11:00 saw great numbers turning out. In total we had 35 volunteers in action and they spread out to cover most areas of Ballincollig. The mix of ages and backgrounds is amazing, from the young children to the Girl Guides to the adults from a variety of nationalities it all adds to the experience of a community looking after itself where possible. On the normal litter pick alone a total of 55 bags were collected. This seems a lot but all the volunteers remarked that there was not a lot of litter on our usual routes. Most managed to cover more ground as a result. For some there was a first time pick in a few areas not done before. These areas are outside what we would consider our usual boundaries but to clear them of litter adds enormously to the entrance roads to the Town. Extending the scope of the weekly pick is something we began last year and this is a large part of the reason that the bag numbers seem higher than one would expect on looking at the condition of the Town itself. As mentioned earlier we collected from estates also. In total from these clean-ups combined with volunteers picking during the week a further total of 152 bags were lifted. 130 of these were recyclable with the majority being green waste. Thanks to Inniscarra View, Classis Lake, Westcourt, Westcourt Heights, Castle Avenue, Castlepark and The Paddocks. We know that others are also active and the improvement to the appearance of Ballincollig is marked. It is great to see the dog fouling bins being used and we hope that this initiative will be a continued success. All residents / businesses can assist us by ensuring that the area outside their boundary wall/fence is kept clear of weeds and dirt. This problem seems to be evident in the West Village area from the Oriel House back to Hodders Villas and Coolroe. People are asked to take responsibility for their areas as it will make a huge difference Our midweek project work kicked off this week and we will report on those from next week on. We use these evenings (Tuesdays and Thursdays) to get into some project work and that can vary from painting to grass cutting or clearing unsightly areas. Again we ask for volunteers on these occasions and if you could not come to the Sunday mornings then you may be able to help us during the week instead.
Wednesday 5th May A meeting took place tonight with over 30 of our volunteers to plan out our Tuesday and Thursday Work nights for the month of May. Starting from next Tuesday night is is planned to have 3 teams working on different projects and to review the work at the end of May and then to meet again to plan out the projects for June. The meeting was very enthusiastic which is very heartening. If anybody would like to get involved on these work nights please contact any member of the committee on the contacts page Monday 3rd May A meeting will take place on Wednesday 5th May at 7.30pm in The Oriel House Hotel for all our volunteers to outline our plans for the coming year. Sunday 2nd May This mornings weekly pick had another new volunteer come along as well as a member of the Ballincollig Irish Girls Guides who is working on one of her Merit Badges. It was a very successful and productive morning and great credit to the estates who have started working on their areas. It all makes a difference. This morning we collected 19 Bags of Green Waste as a result of a residents clean up in Westcourt Heights. Castlepark Residents have also being working hard and we collected 22Bags of Green Waste and 3 Bags of Rubbish. A clean up in the Powdermills areas yielded 4 bags of rubbish. Coolroe Meadows Residents were out doing their usual Clean Up and this yielded 4 Bags of Rubbish and two bicycles. The normal Litter Pick which stretched from St Oliver's Cemetery to Carrigrohane through the Town Centre taking in Station Road, the public car park and then out to Classis, We collected 19 Bags of rubbish 1 Hoover, 1 New Household Heat Meter, 2 Bags of Glass Items, 1 Bag of Cans and 1 Bag of Plastic Items Given the number of volunteers we can now cover a large area every Sunday and the results are fantastic and very rewarding. As always the more volunteers we have the more we can get done so feel free to come along any Sunday at 11am to Quish's Supervalu Friday 30th April Are you a dog owner? Do you think that dog fouling is unsightly? Did you know that dog fouling is a health risk? Did you know that dog faeces carries harmful infections, the most widely known being Toxocariasis? Did you know that human toxocariasis is a potentially serious infection that can last for between 6 months and 2 years? Did you know that this can cause eye disorders, asthma, epileptic fits and dizziness? Did you know the infection can be passed from the wheels of children’s toys, soles of shoes etc? Did you know that the most common group to be seriously affected is children between 18 months and 5 years? Did you know that dog owners have legal responsibilities to clean up after their dog under the Litter Pollution Act 1997?
Ballincollig, like most other towns and cities all over Ireland, has a serious problem with dog fouling. This problem is as a result of a large number of people not taking responsibility for cleaning up after their dog fouls. Under Section 22 of the Litter Pollution Act 1997, it is an offence to allow a dog under your control to foul a public place. This means that you, or the person in charge of your dog, is required under this law to remove dog faeces and dispose of it in a suitable and sanitary way.
Cork County Council and Ballincollig Tidy Towns have been very aware of this problem in the area and have come together to launch a joint initiative in an effort to remove the problem in the community. During the next week Cork County Council will be erecting 9 special Dog Fouling Bins throughout Ballincollig. Initially the bins will be placed in strategic locations where large numbers of people walk on a very regular basis. Launching the initiative, Ken O’Riordan, Senior Executive Engineer for Cork County Council in Ballincollig, said that dog fouling is very unpleasant, a nuisance and can be a serious public health issue especially for young children and we in Cork County Council are very pleased to be working with Ballincollig Tidy Towns on this project. “We are very aware that a large number of dog owners take their responsibilities seriously and clean up after their dogs, but there is a large number who don’t and this issue needs to be addressed. People may not be aware that an on-the-spot fine of €150 can be imposed on the owner of a dog who fouls a public place, with the maximum fine for this offence being €3,000,” said Mr O’Riordan. Tom Butler, Chairman of Ballincollig Tidy Towns, said that Ballincollig is very lucky to have so many areas where people can walk safely and this is spoilt by people allowing their dog to foul, not only on the footpaths, but also on green areas. “It is not ok to let your dog ‘do it’s business’ on the grass verge beside a footpath or on a green area in an estate. Allowing dogs to foul on these areas can affect children and they are the group most susceptible as their immune systems are underdeveloped, and risks of contamination are higher when they play outdoors in their neighbourhoods,” said Mr Butler. Tim O’Sullivan from Cork County Council Dog Control Service said that the provision of these Dog Fouling Bins is a welcome addition to the public footpaths of Ballincollig and he encouraged more people to avail of them. ”A simple method for cleaning up after your dog is to carry a nappy sack. Boxes of nappy sacks are available from the local shops for approximately €??? and contain 200 bags. All people have to do is pick it up, tie the bag and dispose of it in the nearest Dog Fouling Bin,” said Mr O’Sullivan. Ballincollig Tidy Towns sees these bins as a hugely important addition to the streetscape of Ballincollig. Now the responsibility lies with people in charge of dogs to clean up after them; no longer can they use the excuse that there is nowhere to put their dog waste. The Dog Control Service and the Anti Litter Unit from Cork County Council will be monitoring the situation a lot more frequently so, the simple message is ‘clean up or pay up’.
Tuesday 27th April WE NEED YOUR TOKENS The Evening Echo in association with Folláin are offering 200 trees to the Community or Voluntary Group who collect the most Tokens from the Evening Echo between Monday 26th April and Friday 7th May. Ballincollig Business Association have teamed up with Ballincollig Tidy Towns to try and collect as many tokens as possible to be in with a chance of winning these trees for the community. People are asked to collect as many tokens as possible and drop them into Ballincollig Credit Union or give them to any member of the BBA or BTT. This is a great opportunity to try and get some trees for Ballincollig which will benefit the community for many years to come. All Assistance Would Be Greatly Appreciated
Sunday Morning Litter Pick & A Cuppa!!!!
Monday 26th April Today Cork County Council commenced putting up 11 Dog Fouling Bins around Ballincollig in a combined effort to deal with the nuisance of dog fouling. Those in control of dogs are responsible for cleaning up after their dogs. Both Cork County Council and Ballincollig Tidy Towns urges people to take their responsibilities seriously. One of the simplest methods for removing the Dog Fouling is to use Nappy Disposal Bags which are available in both Down's and Quish's Supervalu The Dog Control Unit from Cork County Council will be spending a lot more time in Ballincollig from today on to help encourage the use of the new bins
Sunday 25th April Once again we had a great crowd for our Sunday morning litter pick with 25 souls giving their time voluntarily. Initially the morning was very wet and it looked as though we may have to cancel. However, at 10:30 the rain lifted and by 12:00 we were fairly hot given that we had dressed for rain. Many thanks to our dedicated volunteers and we welcomed our second volunteer in as many weeks from Turin Glas on Greenfields Road. In the end we had 45 bags and collected a further 22 from estates clean-ups done during the week, giving a total of 67 bags. In that 67 we had 23 for recycling. A lot of the main streets were covered but not all. Areas covered were from Greenfields to the Kilumney Road roundabout, Maglin Road (including a dumping blackspot), Curraheen Road from Maglin Bridge to Hobbs Farm, Hobbs Farm to Poulavone Roundabout, Poulavone to St. Oliver's Cemetery via Model Farm Road, Poulavone Roundabout to Killumney Road Roundabout, The New Spine Road, Wyndham Downs to Colaiste Choilm, Station Road, The Square, Harrington Street/Saclay Road and Baker Street. In conjunction with An Taisce’s National Spring Week initiative we had a further 6 estates conducting their own clean-ups. Well done to the residents of Westcourt Heights, Cois Na Coire/The Ranges, Inniscarra View, Coolroe Meadows and Classis Lake who all carried out Clean Ups of their areas this week. The results are fantastic and make such a difference. Some have been out twice or more and for some they are just getting started. It is not too late to organise a clean-up and as the local estates competition is to start in just 4 weeks we take this opportunity to advise everyone that the initial pre judging inspection will take place in all estates this coming week. This may have a bearing on the final outcome for the prizes so try to get out and do a little as every bit will help. The competition criteria are decided and we can forward these to anyone once we have a contact name and address in the estates, so please get in touch. We are available to give any help or advice we can and we can be contacted at Ballincolligtidy@gmail.com or through Mr Pat Clarke of Ballincollig Plant and Tool Hire in Innishmore. The very successful weekly Sunday morning litter picks will continue and as usual we meet each Sunday morning at Quish’s Supervalu car park at 11:00 am, so if you can help out just turn up and we will supply pickers, gloves and bags.
Friday 23rd April Well done to the residents of Classis Lake, Westcourt Heights, Cois Na Coire, Inniscarra View and Coolroe Meadows who all carried out Clean Ups of their areas this week. The results are fantastic and make such a difference. It is amazing how much a little community spirit can make to an area. Thursday 22nd April Dog Fouling is unsightly and also is a major health risk especially to young children. It is also illegal as the dog owner or the person in charge of the dog is responsible for cleaning up after the dog. Over the coming weeks full details of a joint initiative between Ballincollig Tidy Towns and Cork County Council will be announced to tackle this problem in Ballincollig.
Monday 19th April Yesterday was our normal Weekly Clean Up and what a difference it made. Throughout the week it was remarked by a number of people about the litter around the area. This was because last Sunday we concentrated our efforts on the Ballincollig By pass. Yesterday 25 volunteers collected 50 Bags of Litter 3 Bags of Cans (Some still unopened) 4 Bags of plastic, 2 bags of glass and 1 bag of wood. 10 of these bags were as a result of a Spring Clean by the residents of Inniscarra View. They have to be congratulated for their efforts During this time we also managed to finish off the last section of the By pass. Driving now along the Ballincollig By pass from the Eastern Slip to the Ballincollig West Slip to EMC it is very noticeable how clean it is as a result of our Clean Up's We appeal to motorists to stop throwing items from their cars. Please keep them in your vehicles until you get home or to a litter bin.
Sunday 18th April Today was our normal Weekly Clean Up and what a difference it made. Throughout the week it was remarked by a number of people about the litter around the area. This was because on the Sunday previous we concentrated our efforts on the Ballincollig By pass. We had 25 volunteers out for the hour and some even went earlier. In total we collected 83 Bags of waste and from that 33 Bags were recyclable. 20 of these bags were as a result of a Spring Clean by the residents of Inniscarra View. They have to be congratulated for their efforts During this time we also managed to finish off the last section of the By pass. Driving now along the Ballincollig By pass from the Eastern Slip to the Ballincollig West Slip to EMC it is very noticeable how clean it is as a result of our Clean Up's. We appeal to motorists to stop throwing items from their cars. Please keep them in your vehicles until you get home or to a litter bin. The National Spring Clean drive for this month of April continues. We once again appeal to all the residents to support us. About 10 estates have conducted clean ups this month and we hope many more will take the opportunity to do so as well. Our group do not have the manpower to go into each estate so we rely on residents to look after their own areas. We are available to give any help or advice we can and we can be contacted at ballincolligtidy@gmail.com Work done now will help your estate in the local Estates competition and that is to commence judging in 5 weeks time. The competition criteria are decided and we can forward these to anyone once we have a contact name and address in the estates, so please get in touch. The very successful weekly Sunday morning litter picks will continue and as usual we meet each Sunday morning at Quish’s Supervalu car park at 11:00 am, so if you can help out just turn up and we will supply pickers, gloves and bags.
Loads of it everywhere In the gutter, it’s just not fair Tossed on the ground Thrown all around Easily sorted, it’s simple Reduce, re-use recycle!
Thursday 15th April Dog Fouling is unsightly, unpleasant and can be a serious health risk. Ballincollig Tidy Towns and the Ballincollig Engineers Office of Cork County Council have come together with a Joint Initiative to try and tackle this serious problem. Full Details Will Be Announced Next Week Wednesday 14th April This evening Ballincollig Business Association held a function in The Oriel House Hotel to present the prizes for the winning entries in Ballincollig's St Patrick's Day Parade. Ballincollig Tidy Towns received 3rd Place for its float and great credit is due to Pat Clarke and Kieran O'Shea for their work on the float. Also great credit to the volunteers who carried out a clean up before and after the parade and also walked in it looking splendid in their new High Vis Jackets
Sunday 11th April This morning Ballincollig Tidy Towns played its part for National Spring Clean 2010. "Operation Spring Clean Ballincollig Bypass" Ballincollig By pass was the project to be tackled and cleaned. We had previously picked a good part of the By pass but now asked for a special effort to cover the entire area from the flyover at the Eastern side to the flyover at EMC2 on the Western side of Ballincollig (A Distance of 5km approx on the N22) This involved an earlier start at 10:00 am and we had 25 volunteers turning out with a further 5 going to deal with the town centre. It was definitely the finest day of the year so far and after a great effort a total of 97 bags was the end result. Other notable items picked were 3 car tyres, 1 large tractor tyre (how can anyone lose one of those) 25 damaged hub caps, an assortment of bonnet and bumper parts, a wallet (handed in to the Ballincollig Garda Station) two badly damaged mobile phones, a bag of clothes and a television. Strangely we are still finding Xmas trees and we also discovered 5 election posters Between the posters and the legacy of tie wraps maybe Ballincollig County Council Engineers Office should consider a ban on election posters for future elections. All in all it was a great mornings work, well worth doing with great results and thanks to all the motorists that acknowledged us on the job. As we stated previously we are supporting the National Spring Clean drive for this month and we would appeal to all the residents to support us. We are suggesting that Ballincollig will hold an Estates Spring Clean initiative on Saturday next the 17th April. For help and advice we can be contacted at Ballincolligtidy@gmail.com or through Mr Pat Clarke of Ballincollig Plant and Tool Hire in Innishmore. Work done now will help your estate in the local Estates competition which will commence judging in 6 weeks time. The competition criteria are decided and we can forward these to anyone once we have a contact name and address in the estates, so please get in touch.
Easter Sunday 2010. This morning 18 volunteers took time away from their Easter Eggs to take part in the weekly litter pick. In all 28 Bags were collected in one hour. The Litter Pick covered from Classis to Poulavone Roundabout and from St Oliver's Cemetery along Model Farm Road to Poulavone Roundabout. We also covered from Hobbs Yard to Maglin Bridge and all of the Town Centre as well as the Spine Road. We all adjourned to the Oriel House Hotel for a cup of hot tea or coffee and chocolates as it was Easter Sunday. Saturday 3rd April As April is National Spring Clean Month we encourage all estates to carry carry out their own Spring Clean and to let us know about them so we can inform An Taisce. These Clean Ups will be recorded in the 2010 records. Congratulations to the residents of Rosewood, Cois Na Coire and Coolroe Meadows who have already carried out their Spring Cleans. Friday 2nd April One of our main fundraising initiatives each year is what is called our "Window Sticker Campaign" In summary we ask all the businesses and other organisations within Ballincollig for a donation towards our work for the year. In return we send them a Window Sticker which shows that they have supported us. We also put the names of those who supported us up on our Sponsors Page on this website. The response each year is very positive and we sincerely hope that people will support us again this year
Tuesday 30th March Last Sunday we had 30 volunteers for the weekly Sunday morning hour of litter picking. It was a beautiful sunny morning and everyone set out in good spirits. We welcomed Laura from Greenfields and she has joined us as part of her Gaisce program. We also had 3 small children, accompanied by their parents of course. This is most welcome as our children are our future and to see them being encouraged to play a part in their community at such a young age can only add to their development as well as for the good of the town. The teas and coffees laid on by the Oriel House was a lively affair afterwards and we are continually grateful for their marvellous hospitality. With the large number out and from picks done during the week we covered all the main thoroughfares of Ballincollig from John A. Woods to Poulavone as well as the Town Centre and other roads and streets. A total of 45 bags were collected and when segregated we were able to recycle 9 bags. The residents of Rosewood Estate organised a clean up in their own estate during the week and its easy to see how they are one of the tidiest estates in Ballincollig. A well supported clean up resulted in a further 18 bags to be added to the count. We would ask all residents in Ballincollig to consider organising clean ups in April. April this year is once again the dedicated month for the National Spring Clean and is co-ordinated by An Taisce for the 12th year in succession. Anyone can get involved from Community groups, Schools, Youth groups, Businesses to Local authorities. An Taisce can be contacted for a starter pack by registering online at www.nationalspringclean.org or if you wish contact Ballincollig Tidy Towns at ballincolligtidy@gmail.com . If you have done a clean up or you are organising one please let us know as we will give feedback to An Taisce at the end of the month. We can also give some assistance in organising the collection from participating areas but it would need to be in bags. Please keep recyclable materials separate such as glass, plastic bottles and cans. Any group that needs help or advice are most welcome to get in touch with us as above or through Mr Pat Clarke of Ballincollig Plant and Tool Hire in Innishmore. The very successful weekly Sunday morning litter picks will continue and as usual we meet each Sunday morning at Quish’s Supervalu car park at 11:00 am, so if you can help out just turn up and we will supply pickers, gloves and bags.
BE A GREEN BEAN, KEEP BALLINCOLLIG SQUEAKY CLEAN
Friday 19th March Last Sunday we had 27 volunteers for the hour of litter picking. This is the largest turnout this year so far and included a few new additions to the ranks so thanks to all for the extra help. We concentrated mainly on the Town centre area and primarily dealing with the scourge of cigarette butts. Many of the litterbins have cigarette receptacles on top and combined with the wall-hung ashtrays supplied outside public houses and other business premises there is no excuse to discard the butts on the streets. Butts are litter and are extremely hard to pick up once discarded. We appeal to all smokers to use the trays provided and help us keep Ballincollig clean and tidy.
The hours work combined with the clearance of a litter blackspot just off Castle Road produced a total bag count of 59 and 16 bags of that went to recycling after the waste was segregated. Also another blackspot in Ballyburden was tackled during the week and 20 bags were collected there. Let the message go out that dumping any type of waste is just not acceptable and persons caught dumping are subject to fines. Driving through the Estates it is noticeable that the majority have taken action on litter and the whole of Ballincollig is looking better for that. We are encouraged that persons from areas outside the Town are commenting favourably on the effort and the results our group is achieving and it is heartening that some are now becoming active in their own areas. Already this year we have 4 new areas adopted by volunteers and they are maintaining those each week. This saves our Sunday morning team having to cover those places and enables us to concentrate on other areas that need attention. Some Estates have cleaned the kerbs of silt and early weed growth and it would be great if more could look to do that this early in the year. Any group that needs help or advice are most welcome to get in touch with us. Contact on any Tidy Towns matter can be made through Mr Pat Clarke of Ballincollig Plant and Tool Hire in Innishmore.
Thursday 18th March Ballincollig Tidy Towns entry into the St Patrick's Day Parade received an award for their float. Well done to Pat Clarke and Kieran O'Shea for the fantastic effort they put in preparing the float.
Wednesday 17th March Ballincollig Tidy Towns took part in Ballincollig's St Patricks Day Parade and highlighted the importance of the 3 R's Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Pat Clarke and Kieran O'Shea put in a major effort in preparing the float for the parade. Early in the morning a huge number of volunteers took to the streets to carry out a major litter pick in the town and again after the parade they took to the streets for the clean up.
Thursday 11th March The 2010 An Taisce's National Spring Clean has just been launched. This initiative is now in its 12th Year and gets underway for the month of April. Having achieved its highest participation levels to date in 2009, sights are being set even higher for this year's campaign. Last year's National Spring Clean involved more than 500,000 volunteers for the first time (imagine that number is compared to filling Croke Park 6 times) An Taisce would like to thank everyone who was involved for helping them reach this important landmark. These volunteers turned out for 5058 clean up events throughout the country. An Taisce are looking forward to an even more event filled month of April this year with the help of YOU - the Volunteers.
Ballincollig Tidy Towns will be supporting National Spring Clean 2010 and will be looking for areas to carry out the Clean Ups. If you have an area which you think should be tackled in Ballincollig please contact any member of the committee and we will look at it. Alternatively email us at ballincolligtidy@gmail.com
Sunday 7th March Weekly Litter Pick will take place at 11am from the meeting point in the car park at Quish's Supervalu Monday 1st March As the longer evenings and brighter mornings are moving in past the urge to get back outside is thankfully growing. While it is still very cold it is nice to see estates back out doing Clean Up's and preparing for the coming year. Like the hurlers and footballers you have to prepare if you want silverware in September so some estates must already have their eyes on the "Lena Down Memorial Trophy" As always if estates want advice or assistance please contact us at ballincolligtidy@gmail.com
Thursday 25th February Sometimes a volunteer can become a little fed up travelling the same old patch and picking up other people’s rubbish. So why continue? If an area improves over time then it shows us that a difference can be made. Doing well in competitions such as the National Tidy Towns or IBAL gives a sense of satisfaction. However even those pale into insignificance when placed alongside local recognition. On an ongoing basis the encouragement and support from many residents and businesses in Ballincollig and indeed in surrounding areas gives the team of volunteers a lift. Today the work and dedication of the Ballincollig Tidy Towns team was formally recognised by Cork County Council. We were invited to a Civic Reception held in our honour in County Hall by the County Mayor, Cllr Derry Canty. Mayor Canty addressed the group in the Council Chamber and thanked us for the great efforts made over a sustained period of years in Ballincollig. Ballincollig’s Local Area Engineer, Mr Ken O’Riordan and the Council’s Director of Services Ms Patricia Power reinforced his kind words in further addresses to the group. Our Chairman Mr Tom Butler replied on behalf of our group and accepted a gift presented by Mayor Canty on behalf of Cork County Council in recognition of the work of Ballincollig Tidy Towns. After the presentation we enjoyed some refreshments and a tour to the 17th floor of the building. There are certainly some wonderful views of both city and county at that height. All agreed that it was a lovely evening and all appreciated the formal acknowledgement from the Council of the work done for the community of Ballincollig.
Pictures Courtesy of Tom Doherty
Tuesday 23rd February Cork County Council through the County Mayor Cllr Derry Canty has invited the committee and volunteers of Ballincollig Tidy Towns to County Hall for a Civic Reception this Thursday. This great honour is in recognition of the achievements of Ballincollig Tidy Towns in the National Tidy Towns Competition and also in the Irish Business Against Litter National League.
Sunday 14th February Valentines Day As usual our volunteers were out in force even though it was Valentines Day. After the litter pick it was back to the Oriel House for a well deserved cuppa and a biscuit. Given the day that was in it there was an extra treat for people as the committee had also provided plates of chocolates. As people were finishing up the Chairperson presented each of the ladies with a red rose from the committee. The men were feeling left out so they were also given a rose to take home.
Saturday 13th February The newly elected committee for 2010 are as follows Chairperson Tom Butler Vice Chairperson Pat Clarke Secretary Con O'Sullivan Assistant Secretary Margaret Hughes Treasurer Tadg Murphy PRO. Kieran O'Shea Committee Geraldine Drohan Brendan Murphy Diarmuid Horgan Eugene O'Donovan Orla Seymour
Thursday 11th February Our Annual General Meeting took place last night in The Oriel House Hotel. Details of the officers and other items will be posted on the website shortly
Friday 5th February Despite the overcast day there was a brightness around Poulavone Roundabout at midday as a group of people gathered from Cork County Council, Ballincollig Business Association, Ballincollig Tidy Towns and from The Irish Tree Centre Co. Ltd. This group was gathered to oversee the planting of 3 beautiful Weeping Silver Birch Trees (Betula Pend Youngi) . These trees were a gift to the people of Ballincollig by Peadar and Tatyana Collins of the Irish Tree Centre Co from Killdorrery Co Cork in recognition of Ballincollig's results in the 2009 IBAL Anti Litter League These trees with a life expectancy of circa 150 years "are a living monument to the people of Ballincollig and to those in particular with Ballincollig Tidy Towns for their continued success in the IBAL Competition" said Peadar
Group Pictured at Poulavone Roundabout for the Planting of the Weeping Silver Birch Trees last Friday. The Trees were a gift from The Irish Tree Centre in Killdorrery
Thursday 4th February For the last few weeks we have been carrying out some upgrading of our website but we are now back up and running and will be updating the website each week. A new feature of this page is that if you click on Newsletters 2010 this will take you to a calendar and each weeks notes are then available by clicking on the date. We will be making some more changes over the coming weeks to make it even better. Sunday 17th January The first littler pick of 2010
Saturday 16th January Due to the very bad weather conditions last Sunday we had to defer our first litter pick of 2010 until tomorrow morning at 11am We will meet at Quish's Car Park and afterwards adjourn for a cup of tea or coffee in The Oriel House Hotel. All welcome
Tuesday 5th January The first official Sunday morning litter pick for 2010 is on this Sunday. We meet as usual at Quish’s Supervalu car park at 11:00 am, weather permitting. Just turn up and we will supply pickers, gloves and bags. Afterwards we adjourn for a cup of tea or coffee and a biscuit to the Oriel House Hotel. The refreshments are kindly sponsored by Quishe's Supervalu and The Oriel House Hotel. New Volunteers are very welcome
Monday 4th January 2010 Ballincollig has emerged as the cleanest town in Cork according to the latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) Anti Litter League. Ballincollig jumped from 15th place to 11th in the National League of 60 towns. In Cork Fermoy was placed at 27th, Midleton 32nd Youghal 36th, Cobh 36th, Cork City 50th and Mallow at 58th. Great credit is due to everyone involved and especially to the Volunteers who carry out litter picks week in week out. Their dedication is fantastic and shows their commitment to our community. Great credit is also due to the Ballincollig County Council workers who do tremendous work on an ongoing basis. This has been a fantastic start to 2010 for Ballincollig Tidy Towns and for the whole community of Ballincollig
Thursday 31st December 2009 The final league table for Irish Business Against Litter will be announced on Monday 4th January Tuesday 29th December While our "official" Litter Picks are on stop until Sunday 10th January one of the volunteers is still at it .Despite the icy conditions he was out St Stephen's Day and every day since picking litter in the mornings. The result is that he picked two bags each day on the Main Street mainly around the Fast Food premises.
Sunday 20th December Today was our last official Sunday morning litter pick for 2009. These litter picks have been going every Sunday since early January of this year. Rain, hail or snow the volunteers have been out and without a shadow of doubt the results have been fantastic and great credit is due to each of them for their commitment and dedication. After the Litter Pick we all adjourned to The Oriel House Hotel for our usual cup of tea and given the time of year the hotel kindly laid on mince pies and cream for everyone. Saturday 19th December Today saw the last major clean up / cutting back for our group for 2009. We tackled three areas which had been in need of cutting back for some time and after complaints from pedestrians. The two footpath areas were near Colaiste Choilm and on the Western side of Ballincollig near the entrance to Muskerry Estate. In both areas there were plants which were impeding the footpaths and causing pedestrians to step out onto the road which is unacceptable. The other area was in The Paddocks Estate which is used as a shortcut by many people but especially by students of Ballincollig Community School. In the area near Colaiste Choilm and in The Paddocks the amount of litter that was made visible after the cutting back was incredible. We discovered sandwiches still in the wrappers with mould growing on them, numerous empty plastic bottles, sweet wrappers and wrappers from items bought in local shops. This matter will be addressed early in 2010 and with a small bit of co-operation we feel that it can be overcome.
Area of footpath near Colaiste Choilm Before & After Clean Up by BTT Members
Area of footpath in West Village Before & After Clean Up by BTT Members
Monday 14th December Today we finally received our 2009 National Tidy Towns Bronze Medal and our Highly Commended County Award. 4 of our committee attended a ceremony in The Malton Hotel Killarney which was organised by Fáilte Ireland and The Department of the Environment, Local Government and Heritage. Very shortly people will be able to see all the awards that the Community of Ballincollig has been awarded over the last 10 years as they will be going on display in Ballincollig Shopping Centre Pictured below are the committee members at the Awards Ceremony
Back Row L-R Dan O’Mahony Supervalu, Kieran O’Shea BTT Diarmuid Horgan BTT Jane D’Arcy Fáilte Ireland Veronica O’Connor Fáilte Ireland Seated Tom Butler BTT Minister of State for the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Michael Finnernan TD, Pat Clarke BTT
Monday 7th December
Saturday 5th December For our Volunteers
Sunday 29th November Today Sunday, November 29th, we again had 14 volunteers for the weekly Sunday morning litter pick. The weather was cold but the rain just held off. A total of 32 bags were collected including 9 for recycling and 4 bags from kerb cleaning. To date we have collected over 2,000 bags in 2009 and we will give a full breakdown in the New Year. We will be taking a short break over the Christmas period but we will continue for the next few weeks, meeting as usual at Quish’s Supervalu car park at 11:00 am each Sunday, weather permitting. Just turn up and we will supply pickers, gloves and bags.
Sunday 22nd November Today Sunday 22nd November, we had 14 volunteers for the weekly Sunday morning litter pick. Despite poor enough weather conditions 32 bags were collected. Due to the wet and dirty condition of the litter we were able to recycle just one bag. Following our request of the previous week we also had 14 bags of leaves taken from the kerbside by some of the residents of an estate. To check out the value of composting and how to do it, we have put together a comprehensive document on composting and this is available on our web page at www.ballincolligtidytowns.ie .
Due to the very bad conditions over the past while we have been unable to pursue some projects we had intended to tackle. They will need to wait until the weather improves again and we will let people know when we are starting. We would appreciate any extra volunteers for those projects so please keep us in mind even if you cannot get out to help us at present.
We are trying to keep the weekly Sunday morning litter picks going for as long as we can and great credit is due to all the volunteers for their efforts to date. We meet as usual at Quish’s Supervalu car park at 11:00 am each Sunday, weather permitting. Just turn up and we will supply pickers, gloves and bags.
Thursday 19th November
Tuesday 17th November
Leaf Mould Compost.
What are the benefits of Leaf Mould.
Which leaves can I use ?
How do I go about making leaf mould.
How can I use leaf mould compost.
Tuesday 17th November
Tuesday 10th November
Friday 6th November
Friday 30th October Dates for your diaries for 2010 The Annual General Meeting will take place on Wednesday 10th February 2010 in The Inniskenny Room in The Oriel House Hotel at 8pm ---------------- The 2010 Awards Ceremony will take place on Friday 15th October 2010 in the Lesley Suite in The Oriel House Hotel Monday 26th October
Friday 2nd October Our Annual Awards Ceremony took place last night in front of a very large attendance at the Oriel House Hotel. Joint Guests of Honour were the Mayor of the County of Cork Cllr Derry Canty and the Minister for Education & Science Batt O'Keeffe TD. In all 43 prizes were presented in various categories. To view all the results check out 2009 Local Competitions. Photos of the various presentations and social photos will be up on the website during the coming week so keep checking!!!!!
Saturday 26th September Our Annual Awards Ceremony takes place next Friday night at the Oriel House Hotel at 8pm. This will be preceded by a Drinks Reception at 7.30pm September 2009 BALLINCOLLIG HAS COMPLETED THE "3 IN A ROW" Ballincollig was awarded a Bronze Medal for the third year in a row in its population category. It was also awarded a highly commended award in the County Section. Our marks improved by 5 since 2008 which the Committee are thrilled with and this years marks continue the positive trend upwards since 1999. As a committee we have never rested on our laurels and are already planning for 2010.
Saturday 29th August The Church of Christ Our Light in Innishmore has had a major clean up carried out this week. All the external walls and footpaths have been power washed.
Friday 28th August Work is well advanced on the new floodlighting of the Eastgate. Cork County Council have done a lot of the preparatory work this week and the finished product will enhance this historic part of Ballincollig Thursday 27th August The following is our notes which will appear in this weeks Ballincollig Newsletter It has been a while since we last produced an update on work done locally due to summer holidays. However despite the break and the inclement weather the Tidy Towns Committee and volunteers have been very active over the past 4 weeks. The judging of our local competitions has been completed apart from the schools section and the final judging of the category winners in the estates. We are delighted to report that the standards this year were up on previous years and we hope that people are able to appreciate this whether prizes are gained or not in the local or national competitions. Litter picking has continued three times per week and a total of 174 bags were collected in the last month. Of this total we recycled 19 bags. Also a number of work projects were undertaken which included a revisit to the Youth House garden on Station road and the area just inside East Gate. We also cleared a boundary ditch on Barry’s Road and this is much better now for walking. The last project done was on the walkway from Westgate to the Church/School in Innishmore. This task has taken 3 nights of work so far and there is still more to be done there. The pathway and steps have been cleared of overgrowth, weeds, litter and general dumping. Some trees were obscuring the lighting and some pruning has opened up the area and it is a much safer walk now. This is a well used pathway bringing people to the church and schools and is used by young and old. We hope to have the gravel path tarred before winter and this would improve it further. There has been quite a lot of dumping in this area of both domestic and green waste. This is not acceptable and we would ask users of the path to be vigilant and report any instances of abuse they see. Given that the evenings are now closing in quickly we will not have project work on Tuesday and Thursday nights from now until further notice. Thanks so much to all the people who freely volunteered their time to assist us during those weekday evenings since early May. Is it 4 months already since they started? An awful lot has been achieved and it has made a significant difference to Ballincollig. We will continue with our Sunday morning litter picks, meeting at Quish’s Supervalu car park at 11:00 am. If you can spare an hour any Sunday you would be very welcome to join in. Finally, we in the committee are very grateful to the community for the great support given to us last Sunday for our annual Church Gate collection. These funds are vital to us in funding our activities for the coming year and we will try to keep you up to date with regular updates on projects undertaken. As always we are available to assist and advise any individual or group and we can be contacted through Mr Pat Clarke of Ballincollig Plant and Tool Hire in Innishmore.
BALLINCOLLIG IS OUR COMMUNITY AND THE ONLY PERSON THAT CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IS YOU. WE ALL HAVE TO PLAY OUR PART YOU CANNOT LEAVE IT TO OTHERS
Tuesday 25th August Tonight we tackled for the third night the path that runs from the rear of the Westgate Foundation to Innishmore. The results have been incredible and have to be seen to be believed. The Photos below will give you an idea of the disgusting area we found and also the work that our volunteers did to clean up this area. Steps and path before clean-up
Some of the Cans & Bottles that were collected & recycled
The Path After Our Clean Up
The Steps After BTT Volunteers Tackled The Area
Sunday 23rd August Our Committee would like to thank everyone who contributed to our Church Gate Collection over this weekend. Your support is greatly appreciated. We are also very appreciative of the very kind comments and words of support that we received from so many people as they gave us donations. These comments certainly make the work we do worthwhile. Thursday 20th August Our annual church gate collection takes place this weekend (22nd 23rd of August 2009) Please support our efforts
Thursday 13th August Our annual church gate collection takes place on the weekend of 22nd 23rd of August 2009 Tuesday 11th August We were approached last week by a concerned resident about an area which is being used for drinking sessions and also as a dumping ground for local residents. When we went to look at the area which is the footpath which leads from behind The Westgate Foundation to The Paddocks and Innishmore we found a huge amount of empty drink cans and bottles as well as a large amount of household waste, grass hedging cuttings. We also found numerous bags of ashes from peoples fires. The County Council Anti Litter Unit, the Gardai and others have visited the area to see first hand the disgusting condition of the place Tonight our committee and volunteers tackles the area and after two hours we had collected 37 bags of rubbish approximately 800 glass bottles and 1200 drink cans. The bottles and cans were taken to the Bottle Banks and put in their relevant sections.
Sunday 9th August The Sunday Morning Litter Pick was hard work as some mindless vandals decided to smash the phone box at the corner of Main Street & Station Rd. Also there was a huge mess outside both fast food outlets on the Western Side of the Village. It was very evident that no effort was made to clean up when they closed. In total 35 bags of litter was picked before heading to the Orel House Hotel for a well deserved cuppa and a biscuit.!!
Friday 7th August Third round of 2009 Estates Competition will take place next Wednesday August 12th 2009. We ask for your continued due diligence in maintaining your estates.
Thursday 6th August Barry's Road was the target for our weekly clean up this week. The road links the Killumney Rd to the Main Road and is used widely by many people every day as it form part of a very popular walking route. Lately the briars and hedges have been so overgrown that people have had to step out onto the road which was highly dangerous. We tackled the area with hedge cutters and the end result was fantastic. Passing pedestrians were very complimentary to us for our efforts. Another job with great results.
BARRY'S ROAD BEFORE WE TACKLED IT
BARRY'S ROAD BEFORE WE TACKLED IT
BARRY'S ROAD AFTER WE TACKLED IT WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! Wednesday 28th July The date has been set for the Ballincollig Tidy Towns Awards Ceremony. It will take place on Friday 2nd October in The Oriel House Hotel. This year it is hoped to have 2 guests of honour namely The Mayor of the County of Cork Cllr Derry Canty and Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe T.D. Tuesday 27th July The Bottle Bank in the Car Park at the rear of Down's Supervalu is being constantly abused by people who clearly have no civic pride. Unfortunately for some of these people their names and addresses were found and the Anti Litter Unit will be issuing fines shortly.
Sunday 26th July This morning the weekly litter pick took place and in total 27 bags of litter of which 4 bags of recyclable items were taken. During the litter pick the committee got a call to go to a green area at the rear of Rosewood and Greystones Estates. The sight that greeted them was a disgrace. There was household rubbish which included soiled nappies, food waste, empty beer cans and bottles and a lot more items strewn all over the area where children normally play. There was also a huge amount of broken glass on the pitch which would cause serious injury to any young person who would fall there. There was such an amount of glass that cutting yourself would be unavoidable
Views of the rubbish dumped at the rear of Rosewood & Greystones Estates
Wednesday 23rd July Last evening the second round of the 2009 Estates Competition took place. 16 adjudicators carried out the inspections and once again the standard has increased. One of the positive comments that came back from all adjudicators was the lack of dog fouling. The date of the third round is not yet decided so keep checking this page.
Tuesday 22nd July Our Tuesday night work night was cancelled due to heavy rain. A major clean up of the Youth House on Station Road was planned but is now deferred until next week
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“Be a Green Bean. Help Keep Our Town Squeaky Clean” |
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Contact: Chairperson Tom Butler Tel:087 2701105 Email: ballincolligtidy@gmail.com |