Seagulls are set for slim pickings at a favourite Wild Atlantic Way destination after a ferry operator has introduced a revolutionary and indigenous Irish waste management technology.
One of the country’s busiest privately-owned ferry companies, Garrihy’s Doolin2Aran Ferries, has taken a lead to combat litter at the Aran Islands’ gateway pier by installing a globally trademarked, solar-based compacting solution that will reduce waste collections and carbon footprint by up to 20 times.
The SolarStreetBinTM is the smart product of Balla, Co. Mayo company PEL and, after being adopted in leading cities across the globe, is now getting significant traction back home, with the Co. Clare based company owned by the well-known Garrihy family the first to adopt the solution in the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark.
The mechanism operates by harvesting the natural energy of the sun to power a compactor located internally in the 240 litre wheelie bin. The powerful unit condenses waste in the bins by as much as one-twentieth of its typical volume.
With smart software on board that notifies the owner when the bin is 90% full, the SolarStreetBinTM not alone eradicates waste spill-outs but reduces carbon footprint by lessening the number of waste collections.
And with this being the first such facility installed in Clare, the hope is that it will be the first of many installed across the county.
Said Donie Garrihy of Doolin2Aran Ferries, “The unfortunate reality of the typical public bin is that refuse in them is not compacted. Disposable coffee cups, plastic bottles, milk cartons, etc. take up an awful lot more room in bins than they should. At home, people will compact them but that doesn’t happen in public bins. People typically just drop the item in and that means the percentage of the actual capacity used in the bin is very low. Some bins are collected with as little as 5% of capacity used.
“What this bin does is compact the waste so that a lot more gets in. That means we have up to 20 times more waste in bins and they are collected then a lot less. In turn, that means less fuel being used and a significant lowering of carbon footprint.
“We are in the heart of one of the most environmentally sensitive locations in Europe, the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark, and the protection of this environment is hugely important to us. We are members of the Burren Ecotourism Network, which has strict policies for the management of waste and recycling as part of its core Code of Practice.
Last year Garrihy’s Doolin2Aran Ferries invested €3 million in our new ship, the Star of Doolin, which incorporated a number of environmentally friendly technologies like on-board waste water treatment and low emission engines. This year, we continue our contribution to sustainable tourism with the Solar Street Bins at Doolin pier. These bins have also been adopted by Galway, Roscommon and Mayo local authorities and we’re hoping that Clare County Council will come on board at Doolin pier.”
Said Tommy Griffith, CEO of PEL, from Doolin Pier “This is the second location, after Belmullet in Mayo, on the Wild Atlantic Way to have our SolarStreetBinTM installed. Doolin Pier is one of the top destinations on the route, not least because of the big numbers that leave for the Aran Islands from here. Doolin2Aran took it upon themselves to install the bins and that’s a significant gesture by them.
“This is a very special place that’s known for many things; music, the ocean, access to the Aran Islands and the environment. It’s a precious place, a UNESCO site. So, it’s great to see a local business stepping out and investing like this in the environment.”
Added Donie Garrihy: “There are so many boxes ticked by this technology. It’s using the environment, the sun, to protect the environment. Birds are no longer picking up plastics and dropping them into the sea, on beaches or on the landscape, not to mind ingesting them. Because the bins themselves are like the standard household wheelie bin, they can be collected by refuse trucks so that means they don’t have to be lifted by hand, which can be a health concern through cuts and infection.
“We also get a software notification when they are 90% full and can contact our waste collector and let them know they are ready. I expect to see these bins being introduced all over the country.”
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