Let’s Team Up to Clean Up, Together for Kilkenny

Kilkenny County Council just launched an initiative, the establishment of an annual community environmental action day for the next three years empowering communities to Let’s Team Up to Clean Up, Together for Kilkenny.  The action days will see community groups, schools, residents’ associations, business interest groups and sporting organisations all coming out together to litter pick their local areas on a specific day.  It is envisaged that these days will not just to be considered clean up days, but days which will provide opportunities for neighbours to become friends and for groups like sporting teams and business groups to give back to the community and to show that they are invested locally by taking time out to support their neighbourhoods.  

Kilkenny County Council hopes that Let’s Team Up to Clean Up, Together for Kilkenny action days will create a long lasting legacy in neighbourhoods across the county.  Over the three years, different programmes and activities will be developed to compliment the core objective of the “Let’s Team Up to Clean Up, Together for Kilkenny” which is to uphold Kilkenny’s reputation of being litter free and to empower local communities to take action locally and keep their neighbourhoods litter free. 

Chairman of Kilkenny County Council, Cathaoirleach Pat Fitzpatrick was delighted to be at the launch, which was also attended by the corporate stakeholders. 

I must compliment the management of Kilkenny County Council for progressing this initiative, I believe, the planning stage was stalled with the onset of Covid but I think Let’s Team Up to Clean Up, Together for Kilkenny has enormous potential to galvanise the power of communities throughout the county.  I would also like to thank the corporate sponsors who have come on board with this initiative and who share the Council’s vision of empowering local communities for the betterment of the environment.  Environmental actions no matter how small can provide enormous benefits locally and the Let’s Team Up to Clean Up, Together for Kilkenny initiative has my full support”.

Mayor of Kilkenny City, Cllr David Fitzgerald commented

Kilkenny City has a reputation of being litter free and it is important that we do not become complacent.  The City’s Tidy Town Group, Keep Kilkenny Beautiful does wonderful work and this initiative attracts even more resident associations to come on board.  Providing all the registered groups with the litter picking resources and providing disposal options for the litter collected are exactly the types of supports which are needed to get everyone out to litter pick.  I commend the Council and the corporate stakeholders in coming together to launch this initiative.  It has wonderful potential, and I hope prominent community leaders put their shoulder to the wheel to encourage groups to register and participate in the upcoming events”.

The first action day will be a pilot event, in Kilkenny City on the 9th of October, this will pave the way for a larger, county wide event planned to coincide with St Brigid’s Day, the new public holiday which will occur on the first weekend in February next year.  Registration for both events can be completed via https://cleanup.kilkenny.ie/.  This initiative would not be possible without the support of the corporate sponsors PRL, Dawn Meats, John O Shea Trust and Glanbia PLC/Glanbia Co-op together with the waste management sponsor Panda.