With just over one week to go before the closing date for nominations of this year’s exciting Love Where You Live Awards, the race is on to nominate the environmental heroes in the community.

Are you a secret recycling champion or do you always carry a spare bag to collect litter from the County Borough streets or perhaps you help your elderly neighbour to recycle – if you are green minded you could scoop an award!

For the fifth consecutive year Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is welcoming nominations from the public to highlight all the green-heroes out there and the work that they have been undertaking in their local community.

The scheme rewards individuals, businesses, schools or local communities throughout the County Borough that have championed and introduced positive, inspiring and beneficial changes to the environment.

If you know of anyone that you feel deserves an award, then you can nominate them for the competition. But don’t forget that the closing date is March 28th 2013!

There are 14 categories for the competition and there is no limit on the amount of different categories each applicant enters.

Community Recycling Champion
Most Innovative Environmental Project
Best School Environmental Initiative
Best Community Project
Best Environmental Partnership Initiative
Best Environmental Service Team of the Year
School Environmental Champion (Pupil)
School Environmental Champion (Teacher)
The Envirovision Song Quest Champion
Local Authority Environmental Champion
Business Award
Best Kept Community
People Award
Best School Recycling/Waste Poster Design
Entering the Love Where You Live Awards is simple; you just need to fill out a short entry form that must be submitted by 28th March 2013. Applications will be placed before an independent panel of judges. The chosen finalists will be visited during May before the overall winner of each category is decided.

The awards take place every summer in the Muni Arts Centre, Pontypridd and are set to take place on Tuesday 18th June 2013.

Cabinet Member for Frontline Services Cllr Andrew Morgan said: “Annually the Love Where You Live Awards have grown to become one of the highlights of the Rhondda Cynon Taf calendar as it involves so many different sections of the community who are committed to improving the local environment for the benefit of everyone.

“The entire concept, which was the brainchild of our Streetcare Team, has long-since been recognised as a positive, and even pioneering, approach to educating and inspiring the general public to assist us in improving their community.

“This is our opportunity to not only congratulate them on their achievements, but encourage others to follow suit. By working together we can make Rhondda Cynon Taf an even cleaner and greener place to live, work and visit.”

Further information and application packs are available online at www.rctcbc.gov.uk/awards or alternatively by contacting Claire Dean by phone on 01443 827712 or email Claire.L.Dean@rctcbc.gov.uk.

Once completed, application forms should arrive no later than Thursday 28th March to Claire Dean at Streetcare Services, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, Ty Glantaf, Unit B23, Taffs Fall Road, Treforest Industrial Estate, CF37 5TT.