Bin the bonfire and plant bulbs instead!
By Brittany King
BONFIRES at Halloween are an unnecessary and avoidable burden on expenses, environment, and Emergency Services, according to the South Dublin County Council.
In 2016, the council spent approximately €120,000 cleaning up 306 bonfires that took place across the county. The local authority said money spent on cleaning up unnecessary bonfires could have been used to invest on a new play space in the community, only costing around €68,000.
Bonfires are not only expensive to clean-up, but burnt earth as a result of the fires can take approximately 18 months to recover.
An initiative called “Bulbs Not Bonfires,” provides communities with flowers in the spring instead of scarred open space. Over €1,200 will be spent on purchasing bulbs again this year.
One way to avoid bonfires is to not leave material in places where it may be accessible and targeted for a bonfire. South Dublin County Council, Recycle IT, and WEEE Ireland are hosting a series of free door-to-door electrical recycling collection days in residential areas to help ensure hazardous electrical equipment and batteries do not find their way onto seasonal bonfires.
To complement the recycling collections, free passes to Ballymount Civic Amenity Centre will be provided to every Social Credit applicant or group during the month of October 2017. One pass will allow one entry for one car. Passes are valid until November 13, 2017.
Halloween is an especially busy night for Emergency Services, Council Staff and An Garda Siochána; bonfires will just be an unnecessary and avoidable extra burden on them.
If you have any questions about bulbs or environment awareness, contact the office at envawareness@sdublincoco.ie.
For more information, go to www.sdcc.ie
