Sinn Féin Councillor Pearse McGeough is seeking a bottle bank for the village of Collon following its removal a decade ago.
Cllr McGeough was approached by community activist Lee Hamill who described the area as being “starved of amenities.”
The Mid-Louth Cllr recalled “the original bottle bank that was there was great but unfortunately when the bottle banks were being emptied and lifted onto the lorry they were coming into very close proximity to overhead ESB cables and so it was ruled it unsafe so it had to be removed from that location.
“That being said, an alternative site needs to be sought in the village so the bottle bank can be replaced. It has never been a more appropriate time to have the bottle bank facility in the village as we are now in lockdown. During the first lockdown the Council had to ensure increased emptying of the bottle banks across the county as people used them more frequently as they were spending more time at home.
“Despite my continued efforts Mid-Louth has no recycling centre so villages and towns rely on these bottle banks to dispose of at least some of their recyclable materials.”
Community activist Lee Hamill, who lives in Collon said “in an age of greater awareness about the climate and our environment, residents of Collon should not be forced to drive out to Ardee or Slane to get rid of their bottles and cans. As a student, I do not have a car or drive as do a number of other people in the village. This is a basic service that is lacking in Collon that others have easy access to. On the one hand we are being encouraged to recycle and on the other the facility isn’t available.”
Councillor McGeough will be asking the Council to source an alternative site in Collon with a view to getting the bottle banks replaced.