Westmeath to benefit from recycling grants bonanza

The Chairman of Westmeath County Council"s Environment Strategic Policy Committee has warmly welcomed the Government"s end of year allocation of almost €620,000 in recycling grants to Westmeath.Cllr. Jim Bourke said that waste recycling projects in the county, such as bring banks, civic amenity centres, composting facilities and materials recovery sites will benefit from the Exchequer funds.The funding was announced by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley TD, on Tuesday, December 30.'I welcome this funding from the Department of the Environment, as it will help us to continue our work with recycling facilities in Westmeath,' Cllr. Bourke told the Westmeath Examiner.'As everybody can see, the bring bank system has a been a wonderful success, and they are now getting so much use that the banks are overflowing at the car parks and sites where they are located.'In my capacity as Chairman of the Environment SPC, I will be doing all in my power to look for some of this funding to streamline the bring bank system in Westmeath,' the Fianna Fáil man said.The total new funds allocated to Westmeath under the Waste Management Infrastructure Capital Grants Scheme amounts to €619,424.50.