Eco-Home gets a visit from Radio Ulster's 'On Your Behalf'
Christine Cahoon Mon 08 Apr 2013 updated: Tue 22 Sep 2015
TIDY Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council and BBC Radio Ulster visited one Eco-Home participant to find out how he is benefitting from the Eco-Home Programme. Thomas Dunbar, who lives with his wife and daughter in South Belfast, registered with the programme in February and has been implementing the Eco-Home action plans and tips ever since.
Thomas said: “I joined the Eco Home programme as I liked the idea of being able to self-audit my impact on the environment. It is a very easy process to follow, and even in the short term it has enabled me to make small changes to my every day energy usage which will have long term cost benefits.”
TIDY Northern Ireland’s Chief Executive, Dr Ian Humphreys said: “Thomas is doing all the right things and by turning appliances off standby, turning the heating down and cycling rather than using the car he is saving money. He is also keeping the rates bill down by properly sorting and recycling plastic, paper and cans. He is a great ambassador for the Eco-Home programme, which is good for the environment, the economy and the householder. Visit the website or order the printed materials today and see what savings you can make.”
Councillor Pat McCarthy, Chairman of Belfast City Council’s Health and Environmental Services Committee said: “We are very pleased to be supporting the Eco-Home initiative as it represents a win-win not just for the environment, but for our ratepayers across the city. If other householders embrace the Eco-Home programme as Thomas has done they could find that it makes a huge difference to their household bills and the amount of waste they are producing. Reducing the amount of waste we produce as a city is something the council is committed to and we need to see Belfast’s recycling rate reach at least 50%. This new initiative puts the issue back in the spotlight and is a reminder to people of the benefits of going green.”
The BBC Radio Ulster interview by Linda McAuley with Thomas Dunbar will be aired on ‘On Your Behalf’ on Saturday 6th April at 9.30am and will be available on BBC iPlayer from Saturday onwards.