Mayo circular living champion honoured at national awards event

A Mayo champion of circular living has been honoured at the Circular.ie Full Circle Awards, held in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, last Wednesday.

Ballina native Kevin Loftus was announced winner of the Circular Living Advocate category, honouring individuals who live by and promote zero-waste and low-impact lifestyles.

Kevin is a trained architect and one of the principals of ACT (Accelerating Change Together), a social enterprise working to accelerate the green transition.

He created the vision that led to his hometown of Ballina having been nominated for Ireland’s Greenest Town in the 2025 Ireland’s Greenest Places competition.

Kevin pushes the core ideas of sustainable development in his work, which has seen him project lead on skyscrapers and city plans worldwide, from the Netherlands and China to Borneo and the Middle East.

He was recognised at the Circular.ie Full Circle Awards for driving transformative change in the Irish property industry and for being at the forefront of Ireland's green transition in the built environment. The judges praised his design for disassembly (DfD) approach, which aims to tackle Ireland's largest waste stream ─ construction and demolition waste.

They noted that Kevin’s work on circular living through the built environment brings the spotlight onto an area that not only has a very high impact, but also that can be difficult to engage or take practical action on. Through placemaking and design, Kevin has engaged a wide network of creative stakeholders in circular living practices.

The judges noted an extension to the Red Bank Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon, for example, which is planned for material reuse and recycling. Similarly, the Scotch House project in Ballina, a Gold All-Ireland Sustainability Award winner for Housing, Buildings and/or Construction, exemplifies the integration of circularity, serving as a blueprint for sustainable urban living.

Kevin is also actively involved in the Ballina Green Town initiative, embedding sustainable practices at a grassroots level and fostering broader community engagement in the green transition.

He received a prize of €2,000 as well as the opportunity to receive dedicated, expert communications mentoring for their future circular initiatives.

This is the first year of the Full Circle Awards, created by Circular.ie to spotlight people and projects that demonstrate what circular living looks like, and celebrate the big impact that individuals and communities throughout Ireland, including in Mayo, are creating by making circular living part of their everyday lives in practical ways.

Speaking about the Full Circle Awards, the Minister of State at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment with special responsibility for the Circular Economy, Alan Dillon (another Mayo native), stated: “These awards highlight how people across Ireland are making a real difference in their community by embracing and promoting circular living in their daily lives. They also act as inspiration to others, creating momentum throughout the country.”

The event in the Aviva also celebrated the launch of Circular.ie – Ireland’s new national platform designed to help people in Mayo reduce waste, get more from the things they already have, save money, and build thriving local communities through circular living.

Developed by The Rediscovery Centre in collaboration with the Department of Climate, Energy and Environment and other stakeholders working in this area, Circular.ie offers practical tools, guidance, and inspiration for anyone in Mayo looking to live more sustainably, from reusing and repairing to sharing and repurposing.

Increasing awareness and engagement with the circular economy is a key goal of the Circular.ie platform, which aims to simplify the concept of circularity and show how everyday choices can lead to meaningful change. Recent research by Circular.ie shows that while awareness of the term 'circular economy' is growing, many people still see it as a business or government activity and not as something they can personally get involved with.

Welcoming the launch of Circular.ie, Minister Dillon said: “I’m delighted to officially launch Circular.ie, Ireland’s national platform for the circular economy. Driving engagement through effective communication is paramount to delivering real change and is a key objective of the Circular Economy Strategy, which I have launched for public consultation. Going beyond digital communications, this programme supports communities across Ireland to embrace the opportunities of circular living, increase engagement and share their impact.”

Announcing Circular.ie, which includes the new online platform and a public engagement programme, Claire Downey, the CEO of The Rediscovery Centre, which is spearheading the project, said: “Circular living is all around us. Our mapping has identified brilliant initiatives all across the country and a growing interest from communities to get more involved, including in Mayo. Circular.ie is about meeting people where they are at and providing practical steps and support for them to get started or go that bit further.”

Whether you’re just getting started or already taking circular steps, you can explore tools, ideas and stories today at www.circular.ie.