Call for Longford people to nominate their circular living champions

Is Co. Longford home to some of the circular living champions of Ireland? A new national initiative – The Full Circle Awards – is aiming to find out. The deadline is for entries is Friday, July 2025 at 5pm. 

The awards scheme is a national celebration of Ireland’s unsung heroes of the circular economy. It is now open for people from Longford to nominate someone they feel is making an extraordinary impact in their community by promoting reuse, repair, recycling, and sustainable living.

The Full Circle Awards is a new initiative under Circular.ie, a project dedicated to informing, engaging and enabling Irish citizens to participate in and benefit from the circular economy. Circular.ie is run by The Rediscovery Centre, Ireland’s National Centre for the Circular Economy.

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Nominations for people from Longford for the Full Circle Awards are now open across six inspiring categories:

1. Repair and Reuse Champion: For individuals who regularly repair, repurpose, or extend the life of items — including clothing, tools, furniture, or electronics.

2. Community Circular Champion: Honouring people who lead or support community initiatives like sharing libraries, swap events, food waste solutions, or local repair cafés.

3. Creative Circular Artist: For those who transform waste materials into art, furniture, décor, or other creative expressions through upcycling.

4. Circular Living Advocate: For individuals who live by and promote zero-waste, low-impact lifestyles — including educators, content creators, and everyday role models.

5. Best Community Campaign: Shining a light on the best campaigns that Circular Economy community groups are running in Ireland.

6. Young Circular Star (Under 18)Celebrating children or young people leading the way in sustainability and circular thinking — in school, at home, or in their community.

The winner from each category will receive a prize of €2,000, as well as the opportunity to receive dedicated, expert communications mentoring for their circular initiatives. 

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Launching the awards, CEO of The Rediscovery Centre, Claire Downey said: “The Full Circle Awards are about recognising everyday heroes from Longford and across the country who repair, reuse, and rethink how we live.

“We all know someone living sustainably, even if they wouldn’t describe themselves as ‘circular’. These awards celebrate the ordinary people in Longford doing truly extraordinary things. It might be a grandmother teaching her grandkids how to sew and mend clothes; a teacher showing their students DIY repair skills; or a group of neighbours who have come together to share garden tools. People across the country are already taking circular action and, through these awards, we want to shine a light on their work and inspire even more change.”

Submissions can be made through the online form at www.circular.ie/full-circle-awards.