Annual Bin It! campaign kicks off with visit to Kilkenny schools

Students from Presentation Secondary School, Loughboy and Castlecomer Community School, Castlecomer have taken part in the annual Bin It! campaign, which got under way this week. The campaign seeks to educate and raise awareness of issues surrounding litter and correct litter disposal amongst students. 

Bin It! features an actor-led workshop which visits secondary schools across participating local authority areas. The workshop, which is aimed at first and second year students, incorporates a theatre-in-education session which encourages students to dispose of gum litter, and litter more generally, in a responsible manner.

Bin It! forms an integral part of the Gum Litter Taskforce’ (GLT) gum litter education campaign which seeks to encourage correct gum disposal. Established in 2006, the Gum Litter Taskforce includes members of the chewing gum industry, represented by Mars/Wrigley Ireland, the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Food Drink Ireland, local authority representatives and civic society.

This is the 12th year the Bin it! campaign has toured across the country, with 463 schools visited and a total of 51,101 students having taken part since the campaign first began in 2006. The workshop tour is supported by a website www.biniteducation.com which includes games and quizzes for students, lesson plans, teachers’ notes, posters and activity cards to help integrate the theme of responsible litter disposal into the curriculum.

The 2019 ‘Bin it!’ tour will visit 26 local authority areas over a six week period from 02nd October until 17th November 2018. The 26 participating authorities are: Dublin City Council, Limerick City and County Council, Cork City Council, Fingal County Council, South Dublin County Council, Galway County Council, Leitrim County Council, Donegal County Council, Roscommon County Council, Clare County Council, Westmeath County Council, Cork County Council, Kerry County Council, Wexford County Council, Cavan County Council, Wicklow County Council, Tipperary County Council, Louth County Council, Longford County Council, Kildare County Council, Sligo County Council, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council, Monaghan County Council, Galway City Council and Waterford County Council.