Christmas Competition Winners

Over 90 entries were submitted to South Dublin County Council’s recent Christmas Decoration Competition. Waste destined for the bin got a new lease of life and was transformed into unique festive decorations. Everyday waste items such as tinfoil, plastic bottles, plastic bags CD’s, tomato trays, cassette tapes, cardboard and yogurt cartons were used to make spectacular decorations proving that waste can be reused in imaginative ways.

Winning entries were:

• Category under 10 years: Roisin Ni Chuig from Kilnamanagh made a Christmas tree made from amongst other things poster tubes, cassette tape ribbon, paper, cardboard, tinfoil, copper wire, old pens & sweet wrappers, see photo below.
• Category 11 to 18 years: Emily Duggan from Rathfarnham made a Bouncing Angel from wire, tinfoil, grass string and an old wooden bead , see photo below.
• Category 18+: Dee Kelly from Tallaght made a star from a crocheted plastic bag with a sparkle of gold wire mesh from a wine bottle , see photo below.

Each winner will receive a prize of environmentally friendly Solar LED Christmas Lights.

South Dublin County Council encourages all householders to recycle their festive packaging at bring banks around the County or in their green bins. Bin collection arrangements for the Christmas period and details of Christmas tree recycling can be downloaded at www.southdublin.ie.

Some tips for an environmentally friendly Christmas:

· If you're not sure what to buy, why not buy gift vouchers and avoid wasteful production of unwanted goods at the same time.

· Gift tags can be made from old greetings cards.

· Pass any unwanted presents on to your local charity shop rather than throwing them away - there is sure to be someone who will like them!

· Say no to unwanted bags! Always use a reusable shopping bag or reuse plastic bags. Don't accept bags that you don't need.

· When shopping, avoid goods which involve unnecessary packaging or complicated mixed material packaging which can make recycling difficult.

· Recycle used batteries

· Avoid using paper plates, cups and serviettes if you are planning a party.

· Buy Recycled! Buying products that have a recycled content is just as important as actually recycling

· Choose decorations which can be reused, rather than flimsy ones which will be used once and thrown away.