Quartet of Cork winners honoured in first Full Circle sustainability awards

Four Cork people were awarded at the inaugural Full Circle Awards last week.

The awards, hosted by circular.ie, took place at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on September 24, and were aimed at spotlighting people and projects that demonstrate what circular living looks like, and celebrating the impact that individuals and communities throughout Cork are creating by making circular living part of their everyday lives.

Among those awarded from Cork is Aisling Kett, who was announced as the overall winner of the Circular Community Champion category, honouring people who lead or support community initiatives.

Ms Kett is a founding member of Cork Zero Waste, and was responsible for creating a platform for reducing waste and supporting people to live more sustainably.

Impact

In her role she actively supports plant swaps, clothes swaps, and local initiatives, and helps connect community volunteers and resources to further broaden impact.

She is also a co-founder of Soil Savers, a composting project that figures out zero-waste solutions for urban settings while challenging the idea of waste.

Ms Kett was awarded a prize of €2,000 by the judging panel, as well as the opportunity to receive dedicated, expert communications mentoring for their future circular initiatives.

Runners up from Cork included Ballymoney National School in the Young Circular Star category, recognised for celebrating children or young people leading the way in sustainability and circular thinking; Shannen Healy, a content creator who goes under the moniker GreenGal, in both the Reuse and Repair Hero and the Circular Living Advocate categories, recognised for celebrating individuals who promote zero-waste and low-impact lifestyles; and Abalonia Blue Koomans O’Reilly, founder of Re.Cut, in the Circular Community Champion category, recognised for honouring people who lead or support community initiatives.

Speaking about the Full Circle Awards, minister of state Alan Dillon TD said that the awards “highlight how people across Ireland are making a real difference in their community by embracing and promoting circular living in their daily lives”.

For further information, visit https://circular.ie.