Circular Economy Tours

Tour One

Explore Ireland’s largest Ecovillage

Cloughjordan Ecovillage
Co Tipperary

Cloughjordan is Ireland’s largest Ecovillage.  Situated in heart of Ireland in County Tipperary, the Cloughjordan Ecovillage is a project which aims to create a community with commitments to ecological, social and economic sustainability.  The first residents moved into the Ecovillage in December 2009 and have been learning how to live sustainably with much of their food grown on the Cloughjordan Community Farm using organic and biodynamic principles. 

This full day tour was limited to 30 people and included tours featuring the community farm, sustainable urban draining system and district heating system. Lunch was provided by local social enterprise The Night Orchard.  Presentations included the integrated constructed wetland, research gardens and Riot Rye Bakery.

  • -Departed Dublin: 9AM

    -Returned to Dublin: Around 6 PM

  • The pickup location for this tour was outside Trinity College, Nassau Street

    Coach: 231KE433

Information

  • Cloughjordan Ecovillage
    Eircode : E53 VP86

Tour Two

Dublin’s Circular Economy Connected Neighbourhoods

The Rediscovery Centre | DCU
Ballymun, Co Dublin

The Rediscovery Centre in Ballymun was established in 2016 and is the National Centre for the Circular Economy in Ireland. The centre brings together the skills and expertise of artists, scientists, designers and craftspeople united in a common purpose of sustainability. Located in a bespoke demonstration eco-facility, delegates visited four reuse social enterprises; Rediscover Furniture, Rediscover Fashion, Rediscover Paint and Rediscover Cycling which use unwanted materials for new product development and design demonstrating effective resource efficiency, reuse and low carbon living. It is located on the Northside of Dublin in the repurposed Boiler House in Ballymun. Lunch was also provided here.

Following this expansive look behind the scenes of Ireland’s Circular Economy, delegates visited nearby Dublin City University (DCU), where cutting edge research into greener living is being carried out. Here they met Samantha Fahy, Head of Sustainability, with presentations from Dave Robbins, Diarmuid Torney and Niall O’Brien. Topics included Growdome, Climate &; Society, Intensive Urban Agriculture and the Plastics Challenge. The DCU community garden is open to all staff, students and DCU alumni and is a resource for teaching, research, education, training and community engagement.

  • -Departed Dublin : 9:00 am

    -Rediscovery Centre 10am to 12noon

    -Early lunch from 12noon to 1pmDublin City University (DCU) from 1.30pm

    -Returned to Dublin: around 5:00 pm

  • The pickup location for this tour was outside Trinity College, Nassau Street D02 HX80.

    Note – no toilet on the bus

Information

  • The Rediscovery Centre: The Boiler House, Ballymun Rd., Ballymun, Dublin, D09 HK58

    DCU: Dublin City University, Collins Ave Ext, Whitehall, Dublin 9

Tour Three

Waste Management Reimagined: Rethink, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

ReCreate | Thorntons Recycling | Food Cloud Co Dublin

ReCreate in Ballymount on the Southside of Dublin City is a thriving social enterprise making art materials and educational supplies affordable and accessible to every sector of the community. Clean reusable materials from businesses are salvaged and redistributed to members free of charge and in unlimited quantities for creative use.

Continuing their exploration into waste management in Ireland, the next stop was Thorntons Recycling, a company that prides itself on being one of Ireland’s most progressive and advanced recycling companies, with an impressive company recycling rate of 92% in 2022. Striving each year to increase recycling rates and ensure the maximum amount of material is fully recycled or recovered as an alternative fuel. Each month over 450,000 services are carried out to commercial (5,500) and household (75,000) customers collecting over 1,100 tonnes of recyclable materials each month from 120,000 household recycling bins. Lunch was provided at The Green Kitchen and Garden Shop in nearby Walkinstown where there was a special welcome for staff members with a disability.

The tour ended with a stop-off at a very exciting waste management organisation; Food Cloud, a non-profit social enterprise operating since 2013 to tackle the twin issues of food waste and food insecurity.

  • Departed Dublin : 9am

    Recreate 10am to 11.30am

    Thorntons Recycling 12noon to 1.30

    Lunch from 1.30 to 3pm

    Food cloud 3.30pm

    Return Dublin : 6pm

  • The pickup location for this tour will be outside Trinity College, Nassau Street D02 HX80.

Information

  • Recreate: Block J5, Ballymount Dr, Ballymount Industrial Estate, Dublin 12 Eircode D12 AK5V

    Thorntons Recycling: Unit S3B, Henry Rd, Park West Business Park, Dublin 12, Eircode D12 AC2X

    The Green Kitchen & Garden Shop 12 Walkinstown Green, Dublin 12, Eircode D12 AW22

    Food Cloud : Broomhill Business Park, 8 Broomhill Rd, Tallaght, Dublin 24, Eircode D24 CD32

Tour Four

New Perspectives: Green Energy & Dublin-by-boat

Dublin Waste to Energy | Docklands
Co Dublin

Gaining new perspectives on how to use the circular economy to generate energy, as well as taking in the sights of Dublin whilst observing local fauna. Dublin Waste to Energy (also known as Energy-from-Waste) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or steam from the combustion of non-recyclable residual waste. This plant provides sustainable treatment of waste that cannot be reused or recycled, converting it into renewable energy. This plant visit demonstrated how the circular economy is supported by recovering resources from household and commercial waste that remains after recycling. Modern facilities generate baseload electricity and create hot water for district heating networks, as well as producing ash that can be turned into building materials and enabling extraction of ferrous and non-ferrous metals for reuse.

Looking back to where we’ve come from, and learning more about where we are going, with two tours of Dublin, showing very different sides to the city. A Walking Tour with Roisin Lonergan Five Lamps Arts Festival to discover the history of Dublin’s Old Docklands, starting at Connolly Train Station took place before lunch. This is an area of the city rich in trading history. It included areas such as George’s Dock, Spencer Dock, the Royal Canal, Famine Memorial and The Customs House. Lunch was in The BakeHouse Dublin CHQ right beside the departure point for the boat tour.

Delegates capped off their exploration of Dublin on a Boat Tour on the River Liffey with historian and author Frank Hopkins as guide. They heard fascinating tales of tall ships and pirates and spot birds and wildlife along the way – watching out for one of Europe’s largest colonies of arctic terns.

  • -Departed outside Trinity College, Nassau Street D02 HX80 at 9:30 am

    -Dublin Waste to Energy Plant Visit 10am to 11.30am D04 N2P2

    -Walking Tour – Dublin Docks 12noon to 1pm starting at Luke Kelly Statue D01 KN73

    -Lunch 1.30 to 2.30 (The Bakehouse CHQ) D01 YS95

    -Old Liffey Boat Tour 3pm to 4pm departure MV Cill Áirne D01 XE03

  • The pickup location for this tour was outside Trinity College, Nassau Street D02 HX80.

Information

  • Dublin Waste To Energy Eircode D04 N2P2

    Walking Tour: Luke Kelly Statue D01 KN73

    Lunch 1.30 to 2.30 (The Bakehouse CHQ) D01 YS95

    Old Liffey Boat Tour: Departure MV Cill Áirne D01 XE03

Tour Five

Live Showcase – Do More with Less and explore Airfield

OPW/Farrell Furniture/ ATU Connemara | Airfield Estate
Co Dublin

Prepare for an engaging live project showcase from the Office of Public Works (OPW), Farrell Furniture and ATU Connemara in the morning that demonstrated circularity and innovation in action through the ‘do more with less’ collaboration where obsolete office furniture, manufactured by Farrell in the mid 2000’s, was repaired, remanufactured and then redistributed throughout the Irish public sector. A series of Irish classic chairs that are no longer manufactured, were studied and reverse engineered by ATU which allowed their repair and reuse, keeping this classic piece of Irish Design in use for many years to come.

A delicious, locally sourced lunch was provided in the award winning Airfield Estate followed by a tour of the house and gardens.  Located in Dundrum, Dublin 14, Airfield Estate is a 38 acre working urban farm and gardens. This unique place was guided by the trailblazing and pioneering Overend sisters who were passionately committed to creating and sharing a sustainable, beautiful and productive environment for all to enjoy. Today, Airfield is becoming Dublin’s Sustainable Food Hub. Our estate of gardens, orchards, farm and facilities deliver a sustainable ecosystem that produces food, manages waste, promotes biodiversity, conserves energy and tackles climate change.

  • -Departed outside Trinity College, Nassau Street D02 HX80 at 9:30 am

    -Office of Public Works (OPW) from 10am to 12.30pm

    - Lunch in Airfield: 1pm to 2pm

    -Airfield from 2pm to 4pm (minimum 10 people)

    -Return Outside Trinity College, Nassau Street D02 HX80 around 5pm

  • The pickup location for this tour was outside Trinity College, Nassau Street D02 HX80.

    Note: There is no toilet on the bus

Information

  • Airfield Estate: Overend Ave, Dundrum, Dublin 14, D14 EE77

Tour Six

Grow It Yourself: Expert Advice for Green Thumbs

Grow It Yourself (GIY)
Co Waterford

This was a full day tour to Grow It Yourself in County Waterford. Founded in 2008, GIY supports people round the world to live healthier, happier and more sustainable lives by growing some of their own food. Their mission is to educate and enable a global movement of food growers whose collective actions will help to rebuild a sustainable food system. A major TV series was aired in 2022 to inspire people to grow, cook and eat some of their own food at home, school, or work and in the community. This tour included a cookery demonstration with Head of Food JB Dubois and a garden tour with head grower Richard Mee. Lunch was a family style platter of seasonal vegetables and salads and some of the food prepared in the demonstration.

  • Departed outside Trinity College, Nassau Street D02 HX80 at 9 am

    -Return outside Trinity College, Nassau Street D02 HX80 around 6pm

  • The pickup location for this tour will be outside Trinity College, Nassau Street D02 HX80.

Information

  • Grow HQ, Farronshoneen, Dunmore Road, Waterford, Eircode X91 NX30