Thursday 31 December 2009

Waste firms welcome court judgement

The Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA) has welcomed the High Court ruling which has found that Dublin's four local authorities acted uncompetitively when they changed the rules of the Dublin Region Waste Management Plan in 2008.

The changes, which Dublin City Council - on behalf of the four local authorities - had made to the Dublin Region Waste Management Plan, would have effectively excluded private waste companies from household waste collection and recycling in the Dublin Region.

"Dublin City Council's changes to the Dublin Region Waste Management Plan were designed to freeze out private waste operators in Dublin and to give the local authority control over all household waste. The aim was clear - Dublin City Council, which is currently developing one of the largest incinerators in Europe at Poolbeg, needs to have total control of waste so that it has enough fuel to feed this grossly oversized facility for the next 25 years," said Brendan Keane of IWMA.

Mr Keane added - "The IWMA welcomes today's ruling which has rejected Dublin City Council's attempts to seize control of waste and kill off competition.

"The IWMA also welcomes the comments by Mr Justice Liam McKechnie, who recognised that his ruling impacts on the financial viability of the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg. Today's High Court rejection of Dublin City Council's plans is yet another signal that the development of the Poolbeg incinerator should be halted immediately.

"The IWMA strongly believes that building an incinerator with a capacity of 600,000 tonnes per annum in Dublin is an act of madness - and our view has, once again, been vindicated today."

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