Episode 04

(Eco Eye s3/e4)

Item 1
Community & Lifestyle
Waste Reduction
With our landfills stuffed to capacity, there’s never been a more urgent need to reduce the waste we generate. At present we’re recycling just one fifth of our domestic household waste.
But reducing and recycling waste has to make financial sense, especially to householders. In recent years, several new waste collection schemes have been piloted around the country. We visit some householders served by Fingal County Council who have been encouraged to reduce waste and save money at the same time.
The future of Irish waste management hinges on recycling as well as reduction. At present though, we export nearly three quarters of our recyclable material rather than processing it here. We ask – Why?

Item 2
Environment & Health
Indoor Air
The segment focuses on the quality of indoor air, visiting a typical domestic setting to assess the prevalence of chemical and biological pollutants in the home, and how the problem – from bleach fumes to fungal spores – can be avoided.

Item 3
Heritage
Water Quality
With pollution from urban centres, industry and agriculture degrading water quality all over Europe, EU initiatives have emerged to monitor and manage the situation. The most recent of these is the Water Framework Directive, a serious piece of environmental legislation coming from Europe: it advocates an integrated approach to all of Ireland’s water from fens and wetlands to drinking water. The emphasis will be on managing all of Ireland’s water, rather than just focussing on the most polluted areas. Currently in its monitoring phase in Ireland, it promises a whole new approach to managing Ireland’s water quality from mid- 2005.

Item 4
The Big Picture
Electricity Generation in Ireland
We use 4,500 MW of power a year – costing the country millions in imported fossil fuels and generating huge amounts of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.
We take a look at what we can to do to wean ourselves off this very high fossil fuel dependant electricity system that we have?
Unlike fossil fuel, renewable energy, is clean. It doesn’t need to be imported and emits no greenhouse gases. Only 5% of Ireland’s electricity is generated from renewable energy sources, such as wind energy or hydropower. Most European countries have been investing in technologies like solar heat, biomass and windpower for decades.
We visit Germany – a country with considerably less wind resources than Ireland – which has developed very forward-thinking policies when it comes to renewables.