As 2025 draws to a close, we’re taking a moment to look back on a year that has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Our End of Year Newsletter is live, and it’s packed with stories that celebrate community-led climate action, ambitious policy work, creative projects, and the people who make it all happen.
This year, VOICE has been everywhere: from Clonakilty orchards to Fingal coffee shops, policy meetings in Brussels to classrooms across Ireland. With a team small enough to fit around a café table, we have somehow delivered national programmes, shaped policy conversations, supported communities, and produced data-driven research that continues to shift Ireland toward a circular, less wasteful future.
But the real story of 2025 isn’t just what we achieved, it’s what we achieved together.
Communities Leading the Way
Across the country, people stepped up, rolled up their sleeves, got involved, and showed what’s possible when sustainability is built from the ground up.
- In Fingal, local volunteers, cafés, schools, and the council helped push the county toward becoming Ireland’s first single-use-cup-free community.
- Clonakilty residents transformed their town through the Waste Not, Want Not project, proving what a whole community can do when it tackles food waste as one.
- Through the Cloth Nappy Incentive Scheme, families across Munster embraced reusable options with enthusiasm and conviction.
- And more than 1,450 classrooms took part in Picker Pals, making this our biggest year yet and nurturing the next generation of litter heroes.
This kind of momentum is only possible when people care, and care deeply.
Research That Drives Change
Our second year of the National Recycling Bin Survey revealed the truth many households already know: supermarkets are flooding our homes with unnecessary plastic. Meanwhile, our in-depth investigation with Global Shapers exposed the hidden global journey of Ireland’s unwanted clothing, and why transparency and regulation in the textile industry are long overdue.
These insights are shaping real policy demands and informing national conversations around waste, packaging, and circular design.
Policy Progress in a Challenging Year
From advocating for an ambitious Global Plastics Treaty, to calling for stronger packaging legislation, to pushing for the long-promised cup levy, our policy work remains at the heart of what VOICE stands for.
We’re proud to have contributed evidence, analysis, and lived experience from communities directly to policymakers at home and abroad. Change is rarely fast, but it is happening, and we will continue to be a strong, persistent voice for a healthier, less wasteful Ireland.
A Year Powered by Partnership
One message rings loudest as we close out 2025: None of this would be possible without you. Our deepest thanks go to:
Local Councils
Your leadership, creativity, and willingness to trial bold solutions; from reusable cup pilots to food waste initiatives, has been essential.
Our Supporters & Members
You keep us moving, researching, advocating, and believing in better. Every email, donation, share, and conversation helps power this work.
Businesses & Corporate Partners
From sponsoring Picker Pals to collaborating on waste audits, you are helping us shift culture within workplaces and influence industry standards.
Community Groups, Volunteers & Educators
You are the heartbeat of change. Your action, passion, and persistence are the reason our impact reaches every corner of Ireland.
Together, we’ve proven once again that real change begins with people - with communities - and grows outward.
What’s Next?
With Ireland set to take on the EU Presidency in 2026, and with new circular economy legislation on the horizon, this coming year will be pivotal. VOICE will continue to bring evidence, ambition, and community experience into every room where decisions are made.
And we’ll keep working with you; councils, partners, families, teachers, volunteers to build on the incredible momentum of 2025.
Read the Full Newsletter
The full End of Year Newsletter 2025 is now available. It’s an energising snapshot of a year defined by creativity, collaboration, and climate action.
👉 [Download the 2025 End of Year Newsletter PDF]
👉 [Link to digital version]
Here’s to another year of impact, partnership, and hope.
The VOICE Team 💚
