Made in Ireland from recycled car tyres. This might just be your newest readily available alternate to the usual garden bark mulch.
The advantages, by my logic, is that it wouldn’t need to be replenished as often, if at all. Also because it is an inert product [ie. it cannot be considered a growing medium] it cannot break down as a normal mulch would in which weeds eventually will grow into. That said were I normally wouldn’t use a semi permeable membrane to separate soil from bark, I might be inclined to do so in the case of this mulch as one would with lets say a decorative pebble. I can also see this working much better in childrens play areas from an aesthetics point of view as versus the rubber matting.
By my reckoning it looks pretty good close up and the tree rings seem a sturdy decent and extremely logic solution to weeds, weeding and their prevention.
Crumb Rubber are based in Dundalk, Co. Louth, Ireland and employ 24 people. They set up in 2003 to tackle the countries mounting waste tyre problem and in 2010 Crumb Rubber won the Green Entrepreneur Award.
Repak Recycling Week kicks off today Monday October 4th with a focus on Recycling in the Office. Last year you may remember I built a garden [of sorts] with Repak to launch the 2009 Repak Recycle Week.
This year, they have chosen a slightly different route and will be teaming up with The Sodcast – The loudest gardening podcast in the world – as podcast sponsors for the month of October.
Today I had a chat with Darrell Crowe of Repak to get a little bit more of an insight into just why and what they had done that little bit different this year.
With an estimated 93% of all textile waste in Ireland sent to landfill, rediscover fashion is a spin off – now fashion label – from Rediscover Centre Ballymun. Set up in 2007 its aim is to demonstrate the potential for textiles recycling, reuse and recovery in Ireland and also to highlight the environmental, social and economic benefits.
Yesterday I attended their second fashion show. All the clothes were made from recycled materials. Some from pillow cases, some from ikea waste bins and old restaurant uniforms. Others were made from jeans and old suits. I know for a fact for one piece in particular the material was taken from a skip….
Ballymun now has won 30 environmental awards. In 2008 it was voted Irelands fair trade town. They have also won the Arthur Guinness Fund.
I worked with the rediscovery team last year when we built a recycled garden at the Smithfield festival and of course also when I bought my kitchen chairs from their rediscover furniture revcycling project.
..
Take a look at what one can do when the imagination is really put to the test. Now pretend I never told you this fashion show took place in Ballymun, in an Ikea store and that some high street fashion label was the designer. In all honesty, I know all of the pieces were for sale yesterday. But I could not tell you whether they would have cost €75 or €1750. I also know diddly about fashion…. but this blew me away and from a green perspective it is exemplary.
I got a note on Monday from a good mate Darragh Doyle. He’d suggested that another [nice] guy [and genius photographer] Danny O Brien talk to me. He put me in touch with Martin Tighe who then put me in touch with another photo genius Enda Casey.
So why am I noting all of these people… well imagine this conversation
P: Hiya Danny, Peter Donegan here, Darragh asked me to give you a call…
D: Great stuff Peter yeah… we’ve a rock festival gig on in Trim… with some great bands like The Magic Numbers…
P: But… eh…. Danny…
D: Yeah and its in the Trim GAA hall…
P: What the f… eh… Danny…
D: …..And yeah basically David Mc Williams will be there
P: Hey! Danny…..!
D: yeah…?
P: What are you doing on the phone to me…?
D: Oh well…. you know the Copenhagen 2020 climate change conference….
P: what on….
D: well we want Trim to go carbon neutral by 2025
P: Holy fock [silence] is this some sort of focking wind up….
D: [silence…..] no mate, very serious…. it’s on this Friday… can you drop down… in fact i’ll get Martin to call you…. cheers.
P: who….?
D: [silence] ………………laters
5 minutes later my phone rings…. it’s Martin
M: hiya Peter, yeah got your details from Danny so we’ll see you Friday…?
P: yeah… listen Martin… is this a focking prank call…
M: no. its serious stuff. We’ve got Ham Sandwich and The Magic Numbers and David…
P: …..no Martin… the carbon neutral thing is it serious…
M: Jesus yeah. Sure why not… we’ve got great support locally and…..
P: …..so you’re a concert promoter with a GAA hall and….
M: no…. I’m a chemist by trade and I work in trinity college…
P: what the faaaaaaaaaaaaaawk……… Martin? Martin?
M: listen my phones gonna go dead i’ll get Enda to give you a call…..
P: who the what……………….. [line is cut……………]
But turns out Martin and his possé are serious. He explains that this is a not for profit gig. Although he is responsible personally if it loses money. He tells me the GAA hall will take several hundred people and they’ve literally gone all out…. He’s starting to remind me of the dreams I had that almost lost me literally everything. I’ve called him a mentalist twice already and this is my third time…. And it was at this point that I now understood why so many people had signed themselves up to help this guy out….
Ever heard of the the Mahons Carbon-Neutral Stage…? Mahons[as a btw] are the local waste recycling business who are the main sponsors of the event. Blah, blah, blah sponsors etc you say….? When a young man decides to put on a rock gig…. Goes knocking on doors and is [in my experience anyway – with all the odd ball stuff I’ve done I would know] told to get stuffed supported by the local business…. they deserve a standing ovation. Fact. And if the organiser[s] is gonna make a loss…. then once again, that would be my experience, I would know, especially with all the odd ball stuff that I have done…. Then fair plays to The Mahon family and The Priory Inn [a great music venue and decent pint by the way] and also emission Zero.
Want to know more….. I certainly do. Wouldn’t it be simpler if they could just forward me on the press release. I’d write a blog post. Job done. But then….. whats the fun in that. Like the Irish Conker Championships…. I’m in. See you there…..
So what else is there on – apart from transport Minister Noel Dempsey….. ? Noel Forking Dempsey…..? In saying that, I’d much rather Noel than the green party….? Who I guess aren’t going. They could do with the PR. In which case fair play Noel for turning up.
Opening Ceremonies: Trim GAA Club, Friday Dec 4th at 3.30pm. Admission Free.
David McWilliams: Trim GAA Club, Friday Dec 4th at 5.00pm. Admission Free.
Launch Concert: (The Magic Numbers, Ham Sandwich) Trim GAA Club, Friday Dec 4th – Doors open 6.30pm. Tickets €20 Euro from www.tickets.ie
yes folks today marks the start of repak recycle week 2009 & there is lots of stuff going on around the country to mark it including some work by myself.
The guys at repak are moving with the times I’m glad to say and not only are repak recycling on twitter, they also have a decent weblog with youtube videos embedded.
That said, the reason for it is to get you to think a little more about what is being chucked and whats not…in that context if you can we can always do a little more… even in my own case 😉
20,000 tonnes of material meant for recycling is dumped annually as people place incorrect items in green bins or fail to clean out waste correctly a study has shown.
The thing I liked was that the videos are kept simple and that whole corporate bit, although there if you wish to view it, it’s kept seperate so the normal Joes like myself and yourself can get on with the business of ‘can that go in there’.
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