‘Obscene’ bring banks to stay put

A PLEA from Kilkee Town Councillor Elaine Haugh Hayes, that “obscene” bring banks be moved from the East End car park in Kilkee has been resoundingly turned down by Betty Devanny, Clare County Council.

At the October meeting of the town council, Councillor Claire Haugh requested that the same bottle banks be moved from Kilkee town square to the East End car park.
Describing them as “very unsightly”, Councillor Haugh added that she had “a bee in my bonnet about those bottle banks”.
However at Monday’s December council meeting, Councillor Haugh Hayes expressed her anger at the positioning of the relocated bottle banks.
“I would like the town council to consider another area for the recycling bins to be positioned. People are not happy with the repositioning of these bins and they are somewhat obscene where they are. Also, I have no understanding why we would need so many recycling bins at once and the red clothing bins look unsightly where they are,” Councillor Haugh Hayes claimed.
However Ms Devanny, who replied on behalf of the county council, said the banks have to stay where they were for now.
“The bring bank facilities that were previously located at the Square, Kilkee were relocated to the East End car park at the request of the Kilkee Town Council approximately two months ago. It is not practicable to request that the facilities be relocated again. The customer has already been inconvenienced as a result of the transfer of facilities to the new location and is probably just about getting familiar with the new location,” she reported.
In Kilkee there are four bring banks for clear glass, two for green glass, two for brown glass, two for drink cans and five for plastic bottles, along with two clothes banks. Plastic bottle bring banks are availed of most.
“The members might also consider engaging with the local community in participating in the Bring Bank Stewardship Scheme. As you are aware, Kilkee beach is a Blue Flag beach and the provision of recycling facilities for the benefit of beach visitors is a requirement of the Blue Flag award,” Ms Devanny concluded.