Only a few days remain to enter the Upcycling Christmas Challenge organised by Clare County Council.
Christmas time is a time of year where lots of waste is created. By being creative and looking at different ways to keep items in use longer, through reusing, repairing, repurposing and upcycling, is not only good for the environment but also good for our own well-being.
In March, Anthony Daly was appointed Community Champion of Clare in an effort to liaise with various groups throughout the county, ensure that people availed of PPE and communicate with the various leaders through Zoom meetings and in person. Sharing community ideas and initiatives has been at the heart of Anthony’s role.
“It’s been a hugely challenging year for us all. There were various other competitions such as story writing and art during the year. This is another way for people to switch off from Covid and focus on something creative,” he outlined.
Clare people are encouraged to participate in Clare County Council’s Upcycling Christmas Challenge 2020 and have some fun creating a new Christmas decoration out of waste that would otherwise be placed in a recycling bin or general waste bin.
“It’s all about creating something Christmassy from your recyclable waste, whether that’s a decoration for the door or a candlestick holder,” Anthony adds.
This is a great competition which anyone of any age can enter and even help each other out with tips and ideas! There are three prize categories one for children age 12 and under, one for teenagers and one for adults.
Each category winner will receive a Clare Gift Card to the value of €100. These gift card prizes are sponsored by the Local Enterprise Office, Greener Clare and The Community Resilience Fund as part of the Keep Well Campaign.
“It’s a great chance to tear into something, whilst being creative. It’s safe as there is nobody handing in projects, it’s all a before, an after picture and what you can do in between. It’s great for young and old people,” the two-time All-Ireland winner maintained.
People can participate by firstly taking a “before” photo of the waste materials and then taking an “after” photo of the Christmas decoration created.
People can simply enter then by forwarding both their before and after photo to the email address: UpcyclingChallenge@clarecoco.ie .
The closing date is the 21st December 2020.
The winners will be announced on Clare County Council Facebook page on the 23rd December 2020.
