Eibhlin's Diary - A busy start to the summer

Finding champions of circularity

I am thrilled that we officially kicked off the nominations for this year’s Full Circle Awards! This is our chance to shine a spotlight on the incredible circular work that is happening right across Ireland. Volunteers, grassroots projects and small businesses are putting in amazing work on the ground and inspiring people in their communities to do the same. Nominations are open until July 24, so now is the time to nominate someone circular in your community.

This year, we’ve introduced an exciting new category that reflects the circular work we’ve been hearing about. Our “Circular Sport Champion” award is looking for volunteers, clubs and teams who are embracing circularity through initiatives like kit swaps and reuse programmes. The awards have six categories, another example is the “Best Community Campaign” which celebrates groups who are spreading the word about impactful changes. Think Tidy Towns groups encouraging repair or climate action initiatives promoting bottle and cup reuse. If you know of someone making circular changes in your community make sure you nominate them and let them get the recognition they deserve.

Community chats at Bloom

I had a fantastic day at Bord Bia Bloom where we hosted the “Circular Communities in Action” panel. It was such a joy to sit down with Kate Doyle from The Nappy Market, Jeffrey Roe from Tog Hackerspace and Leah Woods from The Hub Furniture.

Our conversation centred around the importance of reuse and repair. I think what resonated with me the most was the empowering nature of fixing what we already own. Whether it’s refurbishing furniture or mending clothes, these skills help us to reduce our waste and break the cycle of over-consumption. Chatting to these experts and hearing their passion reminded me that repair is as much about building connection within communities as it is about sustainability.

A new home for circular research

Finally, I attended the official launch of CircularLab.ie where I facilitated a very interesting panel featuring our Head of Research, Rebecca Wilson and Communications Manager, Gordon Hunt.

They spoke about new research highlighting a crucial insight, major life events such as becoming a parent or retiring offer us a unique opportunity as individuals to embrace more circular habits. When our routines shift, so does our relationship with stuff. By meeting people at these pivotal moments with the right support, we can embed circularity into everyday life.

This month has been filled with meaningful conversations. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who joined us at these events, nominated candidates for our awards or simply engaged with the work we are doing.