The new Kilkenny city Christmas trees are more sustainable and easier to manage.
So says a spokesperson for the county council in defense of the move to switch the traditional pine to recycled plastic.
Yesterday, local councillor David Fitzgerald and listener Lucy outlined their views on The KCLR Daily – (that’s here).
Director of Services with the local authority Tim Butler on the same programme today outlined where the trees came from and why the decision was taken to use them.
He also outlined details of the city’s new festive lights which are being installed in the first significant upgrade of the system in generations. Aarded to MK Illuminations through a public tender process earlier this year, the system boasts cutting-edge low-energy LED technology and the environmentally conscious choice is expected to decrease energy usage by a significant percentage, resulting in a long-term financial saving.
As part of Yulefest, the official switch-on will take place at 5pm this Saturday (25th November) by Kilkenny Hurling Legend, Jackie Tyrrell, and his sons.
The spend between the lights and trees came to about €150,000, but some funding was secured to help with that.
Hear the conversation with our Brian Redmond in full here;
