Launch of KeepDublinTidy website

KeepDublinTidy

EUR180 million to be spent by Dublin Councils on Waste in 2004

County councils in Dublin are planning to spend EUR180m this year on waste
management and recycling. This includes rubbish collection, recycling, street
cleaning, litter wardens and recycling/anti-litter campaigning. This is
taxpayers' money, coming from either central government funds or money raised
from council fees such as refuse charges.

The new KeepDublinTidy campaign launched today, aims to encourage members of
the public and businesses in the county to reduce the amount of litter they
create, thereby reducing the cost of the clean up to the taxpayer, and making
a more pleasant environment for Dubliners. The campaign's website,
www.keepdublintidy.ie, suggests ways in which the appearance of the county can
be improved.

The campaign was the brainchild of Dubliner, Rowan Lyons. Fed up with the
appearance of his home city, Rowan made a New Year's resolution to do something
about it. He set about gathering information with the aim of presenting it in a
user-friendly and accessible manner to the public - to both inform people about
the state of the city and to teach them about what they could do to improve it.
"Initiatives such as this can lead to a more tightly knit community and a more
pleasant environment in which to live," said campaign founder Rowan Lyons.
"There is great support from all the Dublin councils for a tidier, cleaner
Dublin and hundreds of millions of euro are being spent on it. But Dublin does
not look as good as it could."

Rowan believes individuals and communities can have a significant effect,
making their neighbourhoods cleaner, safer, tidier and prettier places to live
in. To do this, they must reduce waste, recycle and prevent litter, he says.
www.keepdublintidy.ie gives simple advice on what can be done and how to do it.
A "Hall of Shame" photo gallery allows people to submit photos to publicize
litter black spots so that those responsible are encouraged to do something
about it, using a name-and-shame tactic

It also informs homeowners, county councils and businesses of what their and
others' responsibilities are. Extensive references and links are provided to
give further information about the activities in local areas, from tidy-towns
competitions to street cleaning schedules.

"Sometimes all it takes is for people to tell the council that somewhere needs
to be tidied up and it gets done. The campaign aims to tell people what they
can do and how to do it," Rowan concluded.


For Further Information:

Rowan Lyons, Founder KeepDublinTidy Campaign.

www.keepdublintidy.ie campaign@keepdublintidy.ie