BY KIERAN O’MAHONY
THE launch of reusable coffee cups at the Beda Christmas Fair last Sunday in Ballineen is the first project of its kind in West Cork which see two Tidy Towns groups coming together to promote sustainability.
Both Ballineen & Enniskeane Tidy Towns and Ahiohill Tidy Towns collaborated on this project, which was officially launched by Cork South West FF TD Christopher O’Sullivan and local camogie star Orla Cronin.
Mary Crease, pro of Ahiohill Tidy Towns told The Southern Star that they regularly pick up single use coffee cups in their locality and they decided to approach their neighbouring Tidy Towns group to see if they could work together on a project.
‘It has worked out really well together. We are hoping that it will be such a success that we will have to order more reusable cups and we hope they will be on sale in a number of other retail outlets in the coming weeks,’ said Mary.
Margaret O’Donovan of Ballineen & Enniskeane Tidy Towns said the initiative was about eliminating litter on the roads but also promoting a sustainable product.
‘It’s reflecting the circular economy where one re-uses a product, and the cups which were made by a company called Down to Earth in Cork are really nice,’ said Margaret.
‘What’s lovely too, about the cups, is that we have the logos of both Tidy Towns associations on them. This project was indeed pioneering as two groups collaborated together to make this happen.’
They are hopeful that they can inspire other groups to come up with similar projects.
‘We are all in this together and it’s about protecting the environment and not working in isolation,’ added Margaret.
The reusable cups are on sale locally for €5 and organisers said they would make an ideal Christmas present.
Deputy O’Sullivan praised the two groups on coming together for this initiative and said that with the 20c ‘latte levy’ coming soon, now is an ideal time to buy these reusable cups.
