From the 3rd January 2012 Waterford City Council will be issuing Text Message, Email and Landline alerts for the following categories:

• Water Service Alerts (SMS, Email and Landline alerts for Water Service Interruptions, Burst Mains or Boil Water Notification)
• Scheduled Major Road Works and Road Closures (SMS and Email will include affected areas and offer advice on diversions)
• Flood Alerts (If there is a risk of flooding for a specific area then you will receive SMS and Email alerts immediately)
• Major Road Accidents and Incidents (This includes SMS and Email Alerts for major road accidents which will cause serious traffic disruption)
• Bridge Lifts (Receive SMS and Email Alerts with the date and time of the next scheduled bridge lift on Rice Bridge)
• Other Alerts (These will be used for local events in Waterford City, eg. Festivals, Parades, Spraoi, etc.)

When registering for MapAlerter.com you can identify both your Home and Work locations. This means that you will only receive relevant alerts related to the identified areas rather than alerts for all over the city. For example if you live in Greenfields and work in Ferrybank then you may receive alerts for both locations. However you will only receive alerts for which you have registered.

You can register by clicking here. Registration requires that you supply your mobile number and email address so that MapAlerter.com can deliver alerts to you. You also have the option of adding a Landline number  which will receive a recorded message.

Once you create your account you can always log in and change your setting. If you want to “unregister” for various alerts then this is easily carried out through your alert panel. Similarly if you change your home or work location then you use our interactive web map to accurately map your new location.  This is a free service which is provided by Waterford City Council and MapAlerter.com. This means that there are no registration costs and there are no charges to receive SMS or Emails. Please note that the information that you provide will only be used in connection to supplying you with your chosen alerts.

Source: MapAlerter.com

Christmas trees can be brought free of charge to the Kilbarry Civic Amenity Site in Waterford City (11am-4pm Monday to Friday and 10am-2pm Saturdays) for recycling. Remember to remove all decorations, lights and stands from you tree before bringing it to the Kilbarry Civic Amenity Site as they can not be composted and damage the shredding equipment. The trees are shredded.  Or you can contact your bin collector to check if you can cut your tree into smaller pieces and dispose of it in your brown bin.

Trees should not be left at the gates of this facility outside of these designated times.

There will be no designated collection points for Christmas trees in the city. Anyone leaving a Christmas tree in a public place can be issued with a €150 litter fine. Any larger cardboard boxes that you can’t fit into your green bin can be brought to Kilbarry Civic Amenity Site free of charge, along with glass, aluminium cans,  clothes, cooking oil, engine oil, batteries, fluorescent lights and waste electronic and electrical equipment. Paint tins and aerosols can be disposed of here for the cost of a €2.50 bin tag for every 5 tins/aerosols.

For more information please contact Environmental Services, Waterford City Council on 051 849938.

Source: Waterford City Council

Going forward, the Committee are looking forward to working together to keep our neighbourhood a safe and enjoyable place to live. 

You can save your household money at this time of year by being careful with your energy usage. But the good news is that there are plenty of ways that you can reduce the amount of energy you use while still decorating your home with Christmas lights. Below are some tips to consider this Christmas:

• Turn off your Christmas lights during the day and when you go to bed.
• LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights are ideal for strings of Christmas lights because they don’t get hot, they last up to 100,000 hours when used indoors and when one burns out, it doesn’t take the whole chain with it! They use up to 90% less energy than the traditional, larger Christmas bulbs. LED lights give off less heat, making your lights safer. What more could you ask for?
• If your Christmas lights are on, turn off some of your main lights.
• At Christmas over a 30 day period three sets of 100 traditional fairy lights would typically cost €5.00 in electricity, similar mini-lights would cost €2.00 to run and LED Lights can cost as little as €0.60 to run (allowing for lights to be on for 8 hours per day).
• Turn your heating down in the kitchen while cooking the Christmas dinner. Heat from the kitchen will keep surrounding areas warm.
• Extra activity and people in the home will mean it is easier to keep warm, turn your thermostat down a degree or two.
• Naturally made decorations such as holly and mistletoe will give your home a traditional festive feel without using any energy, and can be composted in January. Growing your own in the garden will keep you in ready supply.

Source: Environmental Services, Waterford City Council

Nearly all this food waste is thrown in the bin and while some is composted, some of it ends up in the local landfill. In the landfill, rotting food decomposes to make methane and other gases – these are greenhouse gases. And food waste CAN be avoided.  The first step is to learn more about what we are throwing out so that we can then do something about it. www.stopfoodwaste.ie and http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/recipes provide information about food waste, along with handy recipes to use up ingredients and leftovers. You can even search recipes by the type of foods that you want to use.

There are a few simple things that we can all do to prevent food waste this Christmas:

• Be aware of the types of food that you throw out. This week, make a list of what you throw out – you’ll be surprised by what you find. The main types of avoidable food waste are bread, apples, potatoes, salads, meat, fish, yoghurt, salads, spreads and dips.
• Once you know what food you throw away, the next step is to buy better. From your checklist, you will now have a good idea of what you throw out. Use this information to change the way that you buy these particular items.
• Create a list before you go shopping, to cut down on the risk of impulse buys and prevent you from buying those foods that you now know you throw away.
• Be realistic about how much food you’ll actually need to serve your guests over Christmas —and don’t be afraid to be a little stingy. The Love Food Hate Waste organization has a “perfect portions” planner that can help you right-size your meal.
• There are plenty of other things that you can do to ensure that you don’t waste food and money. This includes storage and cooking food. Through clever cooking, storage, etc you can cut back of food waste without affecting your meals.
• Create new meals from those leftovers—again, the Love Food Hate Waste and Stop Food Waste websites have a number of useful recipes for food scraps.

Source: Environmental Services, Waterford City Council

The Greenfields Residents Association supported by Waterford City Council plan to have an estate Clean-up Day Sunday 6th November from 1.00pm – 2.00pm. This is a great opportunity to lend a hand to ensure our estate is well maintained and presented.

Residents will be meeting at No. 1 Beech Court (near the entrance of the estate) at 1.00pm. Bags, pickers and gloves will be provided.  All motorists are asked to pay particular attention and reduce speed on the day to ensure we have a safe Clean-up Day for all.

If you would like to download a copy of the GRA Newsletter then simply click on the link below.

• GRA Newsletter Vol. 9

Should you notice waste for bonefires building up or any anti-social behaviour you are encouraged to report such incidents to the Greenfields Neighbourhood Watch Area Coordinator (Brian Power) on 0879762955.  Additionally, please use the below contact numbers:

Waterford City Council
(Environmental Dept. for removal of bonefire material etc.)

Until Friday 28th October (Office Hours) – 051 849563
Until Friday 28th October (Out of Hours Emergency) – 051 309900
From Saturday 29th to Monday 31st October – 051 849794

Waterford City Council
(Fire Services)

All Weekend – 051 875556

An Garda Siochana
(Waterford City)

All Weekend – 051 305339 or 305300
Emergency Serivces – 999 or 112

Local Representative
(Cllr. Seamus Ryan)

All Weekend – 087 6805314

Greenfields Neighbourhood Watch Area Coordinator
(Brian Power – No. 1 Beech Grove)

All Weekend – 087 9762955