Environment « Thurles Information

EPA National Criteria To Help Reduce Construction Waste.

Construction waste is Ireland’s largest waste stream with over 9 million tonnes generated annually.

Over 80% of construction waste is soil and stone.
Excavated clean soil and stone is a valuable resource which is better reused in other projects.
The EPA’s new National By-product Criteria provide rules for the safe reuse of greenfield soil and stone and prevents it becoming a waste.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published National By-Product Criteria for Greenfield Soil and Stone.

These criteria allow for the classification of greenfield soil and stone as a by-product, meaning the material does not become waste. Keeping materials in use is one of the fundamental elements of a circular economy and enable useful soil and stone materials from one site to potentially be reused for landscaping, reprofiling of land and other similar uses.

Commenting on the criteria, Mr David Flynn, Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Sustainability, said: “Construction is the largest generator of waste in our country, in the region of 9 million tonnes annually with the bulk of this being soil and stone waste. Embracing new approaches to design, materials choice and modern methods of construction will shift the sector onto a more sustainable path.
Today, the EPA is streamlining the regulation of construction materials to promote the reuse of useful soil and stone that would traditionally end up as a waste. This opens up more opportunities for safe reuse, and offers greater regulatory certainty to the industry and stakeholders while ensuring appropriate safeguards remain in place.”

The European Waste Framework Directive puts a priority on construction and demolition waste. Construction activity comes at an environmental cost, putting pressure on our natural resources, biodiversity, and generating significant waste quantities. The scale of wasted resources and materials in the construction sector needs urgent attention.

Mr Warren Phelan, Programme Manager of the EPA’s Circular Economy Programme noted: “These criteria present a real and meaningful opportunity for the construction sector to follow a simple set of rules and in doing so reduce soil waste from sites and make tangible savings. These latest criteria are the third in a series of national decisions introduced by the EPA to support improved material circularity in the construction sector.”

Further information on the national by-product criteria and other initiatives of the circular economy programme are available on the EPA website.

3.4 Million Thurles Project Halted By Smallest Common Irish Bat Species.

Work on the new restaurant conversion in Thurles Park’s car park area, latter situated close to ‘The Source’ building in Cathedral Street, has temporally ground to a halt due to the presence of the Common Pipistrelle and Soprano Pipistrelle bat species.
Following a survey, ecologists have found that a small number of these Pipistrelles Bats, together with house sparrows were using the building.
Recent surveys indicate that since 2003 the soprano pipistrelle has increased significantly, while the common pipistrelle has also increased, albeit more slowly.

**Pic 1: The Pipistrelles Bat Species. Pic 2: Closed car park area with 8 year old landscaping including trees removed.**
*Pics: G. Willoughby*.

Construction work begun by the contractor has now been paused temporarily until a Derogation License can be issued by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Ireland remains listed under Annex IV of the EC (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations and as a result of this work, which could capture, kill, damage or destroy their roosts or disturb them at an important part of their life cycle, cannot take place without first obtaining a Derogation Licence. This licence is issued under Regulation 54 of the Regulations, and strict criteria must be met before such a licence can be fully approved.

The project being undertaken in the area had been expected to take 12 months to fully complete, at an estimated cost to the Irish taxpayer of €3.4M. Modification of the building in question will see a mid-19 century farm yard shed being converted into yet another 83 seater Thurles café, with a canopy planned to be erected over the open car park area, thus reducing current existing car parking from 49 to 33 spaces (including 2 disabled parking spaces).

The area had been totally revamped, at great expense, just 8 years ago. Same upgrade had included a partially bricked footpaths area, including steps, safety railings, flowerbeds and 10 X 4.5 metre (14.5 foot) high trees; latter fully planted with various shrubs, thus greatly enhancing this area.
All this landscaping has now been ripped up and removed (See Image above) and the car park closed for use by the public for 12 months, greatly affecting footfall within the town centre.

Vehicle Parking In Thurles Totally Neglected.

With the closure of the Thurles town car park beside ‘The Source’; parking for all vehicles used by persons attempting to do business or attend religious services in Thurles is now at a premium.

The car park rented by Tipperary Co. Council, situated south east of the Munster Hotel, for the past at least two years has 3 car parking spaces, unavailable due to a fallen tree.

The tree, latter a victim of a wind storm two years ago, luckily now hides a vast amount of litter, were Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) ever to come a calling.
See images hereunder.

**Litter permitted to congregate behind a fallen tree in Munster Hotel Car Park for past 2 years**.
*Pic. G. Willoughby*

Meanwhile; the people anxious and encouraged to attend Thurles Swimming Pool and Thurles Leisure Centre, latter erected by funding from local rate payers; the owners, managers and beneficiaries being Tipperary Co. Council, are forced to park on double continuous yellow lines, due to this aforementioned closure.

Speaking of Thurles Swimming Pool; to the rear of this building administration appears to be missing here also. It appears what isn’t readily on view to the public doesn’t exist. See images hereunder.

**Dumped filters, mats and cardboard strewn at rear of Thurles swimming pool.**
*Pic. G. Willoughby*.

Just a few metres away the large car park underneath ‘The Source’ building, remains closed to the public, since March 2020. Despite no public access, three cars were parked in this underneath car park today, possibly owned by persons working in the building.
However, the interior continues to show no effort is being made to repair the never completed ceiling insulation, torn down by the idle hands of vandals.

**Sad and deplorable state, for the past 4 year, of this never sealed interior ceiling insulation, pictured today** *(22/8/2024)***, from within *‘The Source’* car parking area .**
*Pic. G. Willoughby*.

One hastens to add, where was the CCTV supposedly operating in the area, when this same vandalism was in progress?
The time has come for either resignations or indeed sackings from within the Thurles Municipal Council official grouping, due to their inability to manage our town, allowing it to slide, headlong, downhill in a deafening silence.

The waste of taxpayers money continues.

Thurles Co. Tipperary Company, Trifol Resources, Transforms Plastic Into fuel.

“Where Tipperary Leads, Ireland Follows“.
Quote by Thomas Davis, editor of ‘The Nation Newspaper’ in the 1840’s.

A Tipperary company has not only developed but has also patented a new process to transform old plastic into sustainable aviation fuel and wax.

The company known as Trifol Resources are presently operating two large recycling machines, since June of this year, at Tipperary’s former Bord Na Móna briquette factory, same situated close to the village of Littleton, Thurles, in Co. Tipperary.

**Co. Tipperary’s former Bord Na Móna Briquette Factory, at Littleton, Thurles, Co. Tipperary**.

Already, two major international oil companies have contracted with Trifol Resources to purchase all of the sustainable aviation fuel that the Littleton plant can provide.

Both product produced is observed as a massive achievement especially since this former Bord Na Móna briquette factory, for decades was synonymous with the production of harmful fossil fuels, and now will become a central location for the production of carbon neutral sustainable fuel.

The key to what Trifol is doing at the Littleton plant is a process called ‘pyrolysis’ (latter the heating of an organic material, in the absence of oxygen), which involves a machine that decomposes the waste plastic by heating it at enormous temperatures, in the absence of oxygen or naked flame, until it becomes a gas. This gas is then put through processes that cool it down at different rates of temperature, which in turn determines the required end product, which could be wax or very high-quality diesel or sustainable aviation fuel, or Naphta; latter product which is a very low octane form of petrol.

Trifol Resources claim that their Littleton plant will require up to 75% of all the plastic waste in Ireland that is not currently being collected. The waste plastic being recycled presently at the Littleton plant is mostly different types of polyethylene including farm plastic used in the covering of hay or silage.

In 2019 a Chinese company called Sabrina Integrated Services, in partnership with Bord Na Móna, started a farm plastics recovery and recycling operation right beside the Trifol Resources plant.
The Sabrina operation collects, cleans, and sorts waste farm plastic before either shredding it or turning it into plastic pellets.

To date Trifol has invested some €15.5 million in its Littleton plant. This investment includes €4.5m in grants from the EU and the Irish Climate Fund. This investment has provided the current supporting plant and equipment to enable the conversion of some 4000 tonnes of plastic waste per year.

A further €5m is expected to be invested on upgrading production to 12,000 tonnes, next year; while in 2026 and 2027 the plant plans to install a further 12 large recycling machines at a cost of some €90m, requiring up to 90,000 tonnes of waste plastic each year.

Generated Plastic Statistics:
It is worthy of note that globally only about 9% of produced plastic is currently being recycled.
Some 40% of Europe’s plastic waste is incinerated, while 25% gets dumped into our landfill.
Only 16% of Europe’s plastic waste is collected for recycling, with 19% remains unaccounted for.
Every year about 450 million tonnes of plastic is produced worldwide.
While it is clean, easy to use, sterile and versatile; the product remains the cause of enormous pollution problems and at 58kg per capita, Ireland generates more plastic packaging waste, per person, than any other country within the EU.

River Suir Thurles In Unacceptable State – Continued.

The video which demonstrated the deplorable and completely unacceptable state of the first 50 metres of the river Suir south of Barry’s Bridge, in the very centre of our declining town of Thurles, was further supported by comments on social media. All comments indicated the disappointment felt by residents with regards to council officials and elected councillors and the degrading of Thurles.
Ms Sharon Scully (Thurles District Administrator) was, (as is usual with Thurles.Info), made aware of our dissatisfaction.

We will of course be forwarding an email to Ms Scully again later tonight, seeking further assistance with regards to the next 100 metres of this town’s valued river Suir.

Pic (1) Despite two days with no rain, evidence of ground water continuously flowing from under the Leisure Centre. Note the plastic papers ready to exit, come the next downpour to push open the heavy drain lid.
**Pic (2, 3, 4) *Supermarket Trolley’s which have remained in the River Suir for months*.**

What we would like is that Ms Scully would contact three of the local Supermarkets, latter backing unto the river Suir, asking that they remove their shopping trolleys from the water.

I know that Ms Scully will be anxious to observe this area herself, (after all seeing is believing), and so there are two other issues she might help us with, which are as follows:-

(1). Take a walk on now retired Mr S. Hanifin’s tarmac path from the ‘Swinging Gates’, on Emmet Street and examine the crater close to the now deceased Chestnut tree stump, same waiting for some pedestrian to fall into. (Yet another day out in Dirty Dublin, emerging for Tipperary Co. Council to visit the High Court, may still await.)

**Pic (*left*)** – Giant crater on riverside walk near Emmet Street *‘Swinging Gates’*.
Pic (*right*) – Some unknown liquid flowing into the river Suir from behind the future useless and yet unfunded *‘Thurles Inner Relief Road’*.

(2). What is flowing into the river Suir from a drain at the area where the inner relief road will be built. (Look, it’s possible that it was someone just brushing their teeth). Sure you know the area that I am talking about, didn’t TD Mr Jackie Cahill get the money from government to buy and update this area way back in 2021, or was he joking. [See video HERE quickly, before someone teaches him how to remove it.]