Councillor John O’Hara, cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, launches the Westport Green Hubs business programme in the Leeson Enterprise Centre, Westport, with local businesses and staff of the Environment, Climate Change and Agriculture Section of Mayo County Council, Regional Waste Management Office and Local Enterprise Office. Also pictured are members of Westport Tidy Towns Committee, Geraldine Horkan, CEO of Westport Chamber, Deputy Keira Keogh, and local waste collectors Bourke Waste, McGrath Waste and Barna Waste. Photo: Frank Dolan

Green Business Hub launched in west Mayo town

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WESTPORT has a new Green Business Hub.

Mayo County Council, with the support of Westport Chamber of Commerce, Westport Tidy Towns, and the One Westport group, celebrated the Westport Green Business Hub being launched by the cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, Councillor John O’Hara, at a business breakfast event in the Leeson Enterprise Centre, Westport.

The business breakfast was organised by the Environment, Climate Change and Agriculture Section of Mayo County Council as part of the programme of events for Mayo Local Enterprise Week and to support businesses in managing their businesses sustainably.

The morning ended with the launch of the Westport Green Business Hub programme, a project which aims to foster local action on the circular economy and help businesses manage their waste correctly and run their businesses more sustainably.

Derek Hannick, Lean Green Management Services, John Magee, head of enterprise, Mayo County Council, ,Geraldine Horkan, CEO, Westport Chamber of Commerce, Deputy Keira Keogh and Sharon Cameron, environment awareness officer, at the launch. Photo: Frank Dolan

Geraldine Horkan, CEO of Westport Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the many businesses that attended. She said: “On my behalf and on behalf of the president of Westport Chamber, Dermott Langan, we are delighted to host this business breakfast and support the Westport Green Business Hub initiative.

“It is great to see Westport being one of the earlier adopters of the programme and it fits very well with the ethos of Westport as a town that cares for the environment.”

Sharon Cameron, environment awareness officer with Mayo County Council, explained the benefits of the Green Hubs initiative to the businesses and encouraged participation in the programme.

“A recent study by the EPA highlighted that 70% of the waste going in the commercial general waste bin could be diverted to the recycling and food waste bin,” she explained. “The Green Business Hub initiative will primarily provide resources and support to local businesses looking to adopt more sustainable waste management practices, particularly waste prevention strategies and improve waste separation within the three-bin waste system.”

This will include promotion of the suite of free materials developed by My Waste. The My Waste business toolkit to be found here is a very clear, versatile resource which will assist the business community to standardise their waste bin labelling both within the premises and at the back door.

In addition, the campaign will publicly recognise businesses that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability through a campaign of promotion and displaying of Westport Green Business Hub sticker.

Businesses are invited to book a one-to-one session with Mayo County Council's environment awareness officer who will visit individual business premises to help identify simple changes to improve waste reduction, segregation and recycling. Email scameron@mayococo.ie or telephone (094) 9064217.

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