A GOVERNMENT minister has voiced his opposition to a super sewage plant proposed for his constituency.
Health Minister James Reilly fears a systems failure could result in large amounts of raw waste being pumped into the Irish Sea, impacting on shellfish beds, the environment and thousands of people living in Fingal.
Dr Reilly also warned any sewage should be treated to advanced levels to make waste water as clean as possible for discharge or recycling.
"Whatever solution emerges, it is my opinion that tertiary treatment should be included, in order to treat the waste to a higher level and produce water that might be suitable for certain purposes," he wrote to constituents.
Nine possible sites across Fingal have been earmarked for a plant to treat sewage from across Dublin and parts of Kildare and Meath.
A preferred site is due to be selected by Greater Dublin Drainage and Fingal County Council before the end of the year. The outfall pipe will be off the east coast between Rush and Portmarnock.
Dr Reilly maintained each of the nine sites were unsuitable for a super plant, particularly in Ballyboughal and the towns of Rush and Lusk.
Read the article @ The Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label waste planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label waste planning. Show all posts
Monday, 9 January 2012
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Too much waste sent to landfill
Ireland is still sending too much waste to landfill and will not meet EU targets unless “substantive quantities” of residual waste is sent to energy recovery plants, a conference of town planners has been told.
PJ Rudden, president of Engineers Ireland, told the conference of the Royal Town Planning Institute a new national planning framework should recognise the urgent need to divert waste from landfill.
He said proposals in Dublin and Meath to divert 800,000 tonnes of waste per year away from landfill needed to be considered a “strategic national priority” if Ireland was to comply with the EU Waste Directive. Engineers Ireland “totally support the new resource based waste policy proposals put forward by Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan," he said.
Mr Rudden said this included giving ownership of waste to local authorities as well as the power to direct how the waste be treated.
Dublin City Council has already said the proposed Poolbeg incinerator will not be viable unless the Dublin local authorities own and control all the waste in the region.The council says it wants to stop collecting household bins, but it will need to have legal ownership of the waste collected by private operators and the right to determine the facility at which the waste will be disposed.
The council has for several years maintained the incinerator is viable, and that it has sufficient waste under its control to satisfy its contract with the plant developers – despite claims to the contrary by former Minister for the environment John Gormley and private waste companies.
The council is now the only local authority in the Dublin region still collecting household bins. It said it believes it should exit the market, but will need to have control of the waste collected by private operators across the Dublin region to make the incinerator “bankable”.
Des Cox, chairman of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said all parties in the waste and planning business working together in a co-ordinated manner “would go a long way to ensure a more timely and appropriate delivery of critical infrastructure.”
The RTPI is a global Planning Institute with some 25,000 members worldwide. Today’s conference in Dublin is being addressed by representatives of Eirgrid, the Irish Wind Energy Association and Bord Pleanála among others involved in strategic infrastructure development.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
PJ Rudden, president of Engineers Ireland, told the conference of the Royal Town Planning Institute a new national planning framework should recognise the urgent need to divert waste from landfill.
He said proposals in Dublin and Meath to divert 800,000 tonnes of waste per year away from landfill needed to be considered a “strategic national priority” if Ireland was to comply with the EU Waste Directive. Engineers Ireland “totally support the new resource based waste policy proposals put forward by Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan," he said.
Mr Rudden said this included giving ownership of waste to local authorities as well as the power to direct how the waste be treated.
Dublin City Council has already said the proposed Poolbeg incinerator will not be viable unless the Dublin local authorities own and control all the waste in the region.The council says it wants to stop collecting household bins, but it will need to have legal ownership of the waste collected by private operators and the right to determine the facility at which the waste will be disposed.
The council has for several years maintained the incinerator is viable, and that it has sufficient waste under its control to satisfy its contract with the plant developers – despite claims to the contrary by former Minister for the environment John Gormley and private waste companies.
The council is now the only local authority in the Dublin region still collecting household bins. It said it believes it should exit the market, but will need to have control of the waste collected by private operators across the Dublin region to make the incinerator “bankable”.
Des Cox, chairman of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said all parties in the waste and planning business working together in a co-ordinated manner “would go a long way to ensure a more timely and appropriate delivery of critical infrastructure.”
The RTPI is a global Planning Institute with some 25,000 members worldwide. Today’s conference in Dublin is being addressed by representatives of Eirgrid, the Irish Wind Energy Association and Bord Pleanála among others involved in strategic infrastructure development.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 12 September 2011
Appeal against €10m waste plant on hold as board considers application
A SLUDGE treatment company which plans a €10 million upgrade to enable it to process hazardous waste faces a considerable challenge as An Bord Pleanála has questioned the validity of the planning application.
Last June Cork County Council granted planning to Eras Eco Ltd to extend its facilities at Foxhole, Youghal, to permit the processing of 95,000 tonnes of waste annually, including 30,000 tonnes of hazardous material.
Youghal Chamber of Commerce has appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanála, while the company has yet to apply to the Environmental Protection Agency for an operating licence.
However, the board is inviting submissions from relevant parties up to September 13, amid concerns that the planning application may qualify as a strategic infrastructure development and be beyond the remit of regular planning criteria. The chamber’s appeal is on hold until the status of the original application is decided.
The plans remain the focus of strong resentment in Youghal, with almost 300 objectors attending a meeting at the GAA pavilion.
Eras Eco workers distributed bro-chures on the plant’s existing and intended facilities before the meeting.
The co-founder of Blackwater Estuary Action Group, Michelle Ryan-Hennessy, told the meeting that in 2009 there were over 40 breaches of emission limits in the Blackwater, including ammonia, sulphates and suspended solids.
Guest speaker Natasha Harty of the Cork Harbour Alliance For A Safe Environment advocated a "multi-pronged" resistance campaign. Several people questioned the wisdom of importing waste into a tourist town and to a site near a playground, a business park and a river.
Others called on Youghal Town Council, as site landlords, to meet with Eras Eco. Details were also given of how to register submissions if Eras Eco applies for an operating licence.
"If the community rejects this, it cannot be imposed," said one speaker.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Last June Cork County Council granted planning to Eras Eco Ltd to extend its facilities at Foxhole, Youghal, to permit the processing of 95,000 tonnes of waste annually, including 30,000 tonnes of hazardous material.
Youghal Chamber of Commerce has appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanála, while the company has yet to apply to the Environmental Protection Agency for an operating licence.
However, the board is inviting submissions from relevant parties up to September 13, amid concerns that the planning application may qualify as a strategic infrastructure development and be beyond the remit of regular planning criteria. The chamber’s appeal is on hold until the status of the original application is decided.
The plans remain the focus of strong resentment in Youghal, with almost 300 objectors attending a meeting at the GAA pavilion.
Eras Eco workers distributed bro-chures on the plant’s existing and intended facilities before the meeting.
The co-founder of Blackwater Estuary Action Group, Michelle Ryan-Hennessy, told the meeting that in 2009 there were over 40 breaches of emission limits in the Blackwater, including ammonia, sulphates and suspended solids.
Guest speaker Natasha Harty of the Cork Harbour Alliance For A Safe Environment advocated a "multi-pronged" resistance campaign. Several people questioned the wisdom of importing waste into a tourist town and to a site near a playground, a business park and a river.
Others called on Youghal Town Council, as site landlords, to meet with Eras Eco. Details were also given of how to register submissions if Eras Eco applies for an operating licence.
"If the community rejects this, it cannot be imposed," said one speaker.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Greenstar withdraws landfill application
ONE OF the largest waste companies in the country has withdrawn its application to An Bord Pleanála seeking permission to more than double the amount of waste it takes at one of its landfills.
A scheduled oral hearing next week by the board into the application – by Greenstar North East Ltd – has been cancelled.
The company wanted permission to increase what it accepts at its landfill at Knockharley, Kentstown, Co Meath, from 88,000 tonnes a year to 200,000 tonnes a year, which would allow it to develop an anaerobic digestion facility. It also proposed to increase the amount of electricity recovered at the site, and to feed this into the national grid.
Confirming the company had withdrawn the application, Jerry Dempsey, commercial director with Greenstar, said: “Policy change is driving a lot of uncertainty. It was a difficult decision to make.” Possible changes to the collection of household waste as well as the uncertainty over future Government policy on waste had contributed to the decision.
He said the planning process had cost the company “a lot of money”, and if it had gone ahead the development would have involved a €20 million investment and created 60 jobs during the construction period, and 10 full-time jobs afterwards.
The decision to withdraw the application was welcomed by local community groups, who were against increasing the amount of waste accepted. Fergal O’Byrne, chairman of the Knockharley and District Residents’ Association said: “This is fantastic news.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
A scheduled oral hearing next week by the board into the application – by Greenstar North East Ltd – has been cancelled.
The company wanted permission to increase what it accepts at its landfill at Knockharley, Kentstown, Co Meath, from 88,000 tonnes a year to 200,000 tonnes a year, which would allow it to develop an anaerobic digestion facility. It also proposed to increase the amount of electricity recovered at the site, and to feed this into the national grid.
Confirming the company had withdrawn the application, Jerry Dempsey, commercial director with Greenstar, said: “Policy change is driving a lot of uncertainty. It was a difficult decision to make.” Possible changes to the collection of household waste as well as the uncertainty over future Government policy on waste had contributed to the decision.
He said the planning process had cost the company “a lot of money”, and if it had gone ahead the development would have involved a €20 million investment and created 60 jobs during the construction period, and 10 full-time jobs afterwards.
The decision to withdraw the application was welcomed by local community groups, who were against increasing the amount of waste accepted. Fergal O’Byrne, chairman of the Knockharley and District Residents’ Association said: “This is fantastic news.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Greenstar seeks to defer recycling plan hearing
AN BORD Pleanála has been requested by waste management company Greenstar to defer an oral hearing on its plans for a recycling facility in Co Meath, due to a proposed change in the household waste collection regime.
Another waste management company, Panda, has reiterated its warning that it will take legal action against the Government if Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan proceeds with plans to introduce franchise bidding for waste collection.
The oral hearing on Greenstar’s plan to develop an anaerobic digestion plant for the treatment of organic waste at Knockharley, near Kentstown, Co Meath, was due to open next Monday, but the company has sought a deferral until next April.
“We have unfortunately had to take this decision due to the uncertain policy environment that now surrounds anaerobic digestion and other recycling technologies which may be made unviable through recent governmental moves”, according to Greenstar.
Chief executive Rosheen McGuckian said: “Given the fundamental nature of the policy changes under discussion at present it is just not possible for us to inform an oral hearing on key areas such as inputs to and outputs from the proposed plant.”
The policy changes were put forward last June by the Department of the Environment in a discussion document Altering the Structure of Household Waste Collection Markets , which would have the effect of giving back control of the market to local authorities.
As a result, Ms McGuckian said, “We don’t know whether waste we recycle at present would in the future be directed to our own recycling plants or to the Poolbeg incinerator” – a 600,000-tonne facility being planned by US waste management company Covanta.
The Minister has abolished a levy on incineration, and Greenstar sees proposals to review exemptions from the landfill levy as a “further threat to the viability of organic waste treatment”.
Under existing legislation, the inert soil output from anaerobic digestion plants may be landfilled at no cost. “To remove this exemption would expose any landfilled output from anaerobic digestion to the full cost of recently increased landfill levies”, Ms McGuckian said.
“The Government has already removed the possibility of environmental levies on incineration, a competitor technology to anaerobic digestion. To turn around and place levies on it would kill this renewable energy technology completely”, she warned.
In its 72-page submission on plans to introduce franchise tenders for waste contracts, Panda managing director Eamon Waters said it believed “the real intention behind this proposal is to take control of waste to ensure that it can be sent to the Poolbeg incinerator”.
He said this amounted to “special treatment for an individual private company” (Covanta) and was both “unfair and unjustified [as] no credible reliable expert evidence whatsoever has been produced to justify the dismantling of the current side-by-side competition”.
As a result, Panda’s financing for the next phase of its recycling facility in Rathdrinagh, near Slane, Co Meath, was “in jeopardy”, Mr Waters said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Another waste management company, Panda, has reiterated its warning that it will take legal action against the Government if Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan proceeds with plans to introduce franchise bidding for waste collection.
The oral hearing on Greenstar’s plan to develop an anaerobic digestion plant for the treatment of organic waste at Knockharley, near Kentstown, Co Meath, was due to open next Monday, but the company has sought a deferral until next April.
“We have unfortunately had to take this decision due to the uncertain policy environment that now surrounds anaerobic digestion and other recycling technologies which may be made unviable through recent governmental moves”, according to Greenstar.
Chief executive Rosheen McGuckian said: “Given the fundamental nature of the policy changes under discussion at present it is just not possible for us to inform an oral hearing on key areas such as inputs to and outputs from the proposed plant.”
The policy changes were put forward last June by the Department of the Environment in a discussion document Altering the Structure of Household Waste Collection Markets , which would have the effect of giving back control of the market to local authorities.
As a result, Ms McGuckian said, “We don’t know whether waste we recycle at present would in the future be directed to our own recycling plants or to the Poolbeg incinerator” – a 600,000-tonne facility being planned by US waste management company Covanta.
The Minister has abolished a levy on incineration, and Greenstar sees proposals to review exemptions from the landfill levy as a “further threat to the viability of organic waste treatment”.
Under existing legislation, the inert soil output from anaerobic digestion plants may be landfilled at no cost. “To remove this exemption would expose any landfilled output from anaerobic digestion to the full cost of recently increased landfill levies”, Ms McGuckian said.
“The Government has already removed the possibility of environmental levies on incineration, a competitor technology to anaerobic digestion. To turn around and place levies on it would kill this renewable energy technology completely”, she warned.
In its 72-page submission on plans to introduce franchise tenders for waste contracts, Panda managing director Eamon Waters said it believed “the real intention behind this proposal is to take control of waste to ensure that it can be sent to the Poolbeg incinerator”.
He said this amounted to “special treatment for an individual private company” (Covanta) and was both “unfair and unjustified [as] no credible reliable expert evidence whatsoever has been produced to justify the dismantling of the current side-by-side competition”.
As a result, Panda’s financing for the next phase of its recycling facility in Rathdrinagh, near Slane, Co Meath, was “in jeopardy”, Mr Waters said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Council may use satellites to fight illegal dumps
WASTE enforcement officers working for Cork County Council may use European Space Agency (ESA) satellites to identify illegal dumps.
The council has submitted proposals to the ESA to use its satellites to add to its current use of helicopters for aerial reconnaissance and covert cameras which are placed at known illegal dumping blackspots.
More than 150 illegal scrapyards have been closed down by the enforcement team in the past four years, according to information released by the local authority's waste enforcement department.
Despite the considerable size of County Cork - 7,454 km² - the small team of dedicated professionals have had a remarkable amount of success.
The enforcement team consists of seven professional staff, three engineers and two scientists, supported by two administrative staff. They sift through approximately 1,000 complaints from the public each year.
During their most recent raids on unauthorised sites the department - in co-operation with other agencies including the Garda and Department of Social Welfare - seized three truckloads of scrap from Charleville.
The raid, a little over a week ago, also resulted in gardaí seizing a number of weapons, including slashhooks, meat cleavers and baseball bats studded with nails.
A spokesman for the county council said the waste enforcement team contracts a private helicopter operator on a number of occasions annually, to undertake aerial surveillance operations.
However, the spokesman said for "operational reasons" he wouldn't reveal the number of flights mounted each year.
But he said the strategy has proven very successful in targeting forbidden waste activities, and, in particular, illegal scrapped car sites.
Normally the helicopter pilot, accompanied by two waste enforcement officers, operates a three-hour flight on each occasion and visits predetermined sites selected as potential targets through intelligence-gathering.
These surveillance operations were the subject of one episode of the television series Enforcers, broadcast on RTÉ last year.
In addition, the waste enforcement team is using covert cameras at a number of "dumping blackspot sites".
Its first successful prosecution in the courts using covert camera footage was taken two years ago when three defendants were fined €1,000 each for illegal dumping in Mitchelstown.
There are 17 Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs) for scrap recovery in the county and a further five dedicated solely to scrapping old cars.
While trying to clean up the environment, the enforcement team's role is also to create "a level playing pitch" so that authorised dealers are not undercut and threatened with closure due to the activities of illegal cowboy operators.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
The council has submitted proposals to the ESA to use its satellites to add to its current use of helicopters for aerial reconnaissance and covert cameras which are placed at known illegal dumping blackspots.
More than 150 illegal scrapyards have been closed down by the enforcement team in the past four years, according to information released by the local authority's waste enforcement department.
Despite the considerable size of County Cork - 7,454 km² - the small team of dedicated professionals have had a remarkable amount of success.
The enforcement team consists of seven professional staff, three engineers and two scientists, supported by two administrative staff. They sift through approximately 1,000 complaints from the public each year.
During their most recent raids on unauthorised sites the department - in co-operation with other agencies including the Garda and Department of Social Welfare - seized three truckloads of scrap from Charleville.
The raid, a little over a week ago, also resulted in gardaí seizing a number of weapons, including slashhooks, meat cleavers and baseball bats studded with nails.
A spokesman for the county council said the waste enforcement team contracts a private helicopter operator on a number of occasions annually, to undertake aerial surveillance operations.
However, the spokesman said for "operational reasons" he wouldn't reveal the number of flights mounted each year.
But he said the strategy has proven very successful in targeting forbidden waste activities, and, in particular, illegal scrapped car sites.
Normally the helicopter pilot, accompanied by two waste enforcement officers, operates a three-hour flight on each occasion and visits predetermined sites selected as potential targets through intelligence-gathering.
These surveillance operations were the subject of one episode of the television series Enforcers, broadcast on RTÉ last year.
In addition, the waste enforcement team is using covert cameras at a number of "dumping blackspot sites".
Its first successful prosecution in the courts using covert camera footage was taken two years ago when three defendants were fined €1,000 each for illegal dumping in Mitchelstown.
There are 17 Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs) for scrap recovery in the county and a further five dedicated solely to scrapping old cars.
While trying to clean up the environment, the enforcement team's role is also to create "a level playing pitch" so that authorised dealers are not undercut and threatened with closure due to the activities of illegal cowboy operators.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Go ahead sought for major toxic dump
PLANS FOR a major landfill capable of taking hazardous ash from Ireland’s proposed incinerators have been lodged with An Bord Pleanála.
Murphy Environmental Hollywood Ltd (Mehl) is seeking permission for a 500,000-tonne-per-annum landfill to include hazardous waste on a site west of the M1 motorway at Hollywood Great, Nag’s Head, Naul, Co Dublin.
According to plans, the landfill would be capable of taking all of the estimated 86,000 tonnes of “hazardous flue gas treatment residues” produced annually by three incinerators in development in the Republic, as well as one in Northern Ireland.
The incinerators include the Poolbeg waste to energy plant in Dublin and the Indaver Ireland plant at Carranstown in Co Meath which are under construction. Also named in the application is the Indaver Ireland plant proposed for Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, along with a fourth, described as “provision for waste to energy in Northern Ireland”.
The application is being considered by An Bord Pleanála, which has set a deadline of February 11th for submissions. A licence is also required from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Naul site is a former quarry operating as a landfill and licensed by the environmental agency for 500,000 tonnes of inert material per annum. The proposers note there would no need to change the permitted tonnage involved.
According to the environmental impact assessment associated with the application, the flue gas residues would typically contain heavy metals and dioxins and lime.
Dioxins are known carcinogens while other elements of the gases are classed as irritants to skin and respiratory systems. According to the plans, an onsite “solidification” facility would receive the treatment residues, solidifying them before their removal to “engineered cells”.
The application is for a term of 25 years and the area of the site is 54.4 hectares.
In a statement, Mehl general manager Patricia Rooney said the company was engaged in extensive public consultation on the project and pointed out it was national policy to have a licensed hazardous landfill in place by 2012.
A spokesman for Indaver Ireland said it was favourably disposed towards the project. He pointed out that a hazardous landfill was part of waste management infrastructure which the environmental agency said this week was lacking in the Republic.
However, PJ Rudden of RPS Consultants, who are working on the Poolbeg incinerator, said it was not disposed to send either its non-hazardous “bottom ash” or its hazardous flue ash to Mehl for treatment.
Mr Rudden said it was intended to choose recycling ahead of landfill and the bottom ash would be sent to the UK with the flue ash going to Scandinavia.
A spokesman for An Bord Pleanála said it was policy to hold public oral hearings into applications which come before its strategic infrastructure division.
However, no date for a hearing has been set.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Murphy Environmental Hollywood Ltd (Mehl) is seeking permission for a 500,000-tonne-per-annum landfill to include hazardous waste on a site west of the M1 motorway at Hollywood Great, Nag’s Head, Naul, Co Dublin.
According to plans, the landfill would be capable of taking all of the estimated 86,000 tonnes of “hazardous flue gas treatment residues” produced annually by three incinerators in development in the Republic, as well as one in Northern Ireland.
The incinerators include the Poolbeg waste to energy plant in Dublin and the Indaver Ireland plant at Carranstown in Co Meath which are under construction. Also named in the application is the Indaver Ireland plant proposed for Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, along with a fourth, described as “provision for waste to energy in Northern Ireland”.
The application is being considered by An Bord Pleanála, which has set a deadline of February 11th for submissions. A licence is also required from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Naul site is a former quarry operating as a landfill and licensed by the environmental agency for 500,000 tonnes of inert material per annum. The proposers note there would no need to change the permitted tonnage involved.
According to the environmental impact assessment associated with the application, the flue gas residues would typically contain heavy metals and dioxins and lime.
Dioxins are known carcinogens while other elements of the gases are classed as irritants to skin and respiratory systems. According to the plans, an onsite “solidification” facility would receive the treatment residues, solidifying them before their removal to “engineered cells”.
The application is for a term of 25 years and the area of the site is 54.4 hectares.
In a statement, Mehl general manager Patricia Rooney said the company was engaged in extensive public consultation on the project and pointed out it was national policy to have a licensed hazardous landfill in place by 2012.
A spokesman for Indaver Ireland said it was favourably disposed towards the project. He pointed out that a hazardous landfill was part of waste management infrastructure which the environmental agency said this week was lacking in the Republic.
However, PJ Rudden of RPS Consultants, who are working on the Poolbeg incinerator, said it was not disposed to send either its non-hazardous “bottom ash” or its hazardous flue ash to Mehl for treatment.
Mr Rudden said it was intended to choose recycling ahead of landfill and the bottom ash would be sent to the UK with the flue ash going to Scandinavia.
A spokesman for An Bord Pleanála said it was policy to hold public oral hearings into applications which come before its strategic infrastructure division.
However, no date for a hearing has been set.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Volumes of waste fell by 8% in 2009, report shows
MUNICIPAL WASTE volumes on Ireland are tumbling due to the recession, with a drop of more than 8 per cent in 2009 alone, according to the latest national waste report published today by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
This followed a 5 per cent drop in waste volumes during the previous year “in line with reductions in GDP and personal consumption levels”, the agency said, noting that this had happened despite an increase in the Republic’s population.
As a result, “Ireland is currently on track to meet its EU Landfill Directive diversion target for biodegradable municipal waste for 2010” while the recovery rate for packaging – at 70 per cent – is already ahead of the EU’s 60 per cent target for 2011.
The Economic and Social Research Institute, in a 2009 report commissioned by Dublin City Council to justify the Poolbeg incinerator, forecasted that waste levels would continue to grow by about 4 per cent per annum to 2025.
The 8.4 per cent fall in waste volumes in 2009 was most pronounced in the construction sector, where the amount of waste being generated declined by 62 per cent, followed by the commercial sector (12 per cent) and households (3 per cent).
However, the EPA report calls for continued efforts to divert biodegradable waste from landfill, improve the use of three-bin source-separated waste collection services, and “prevent waste arisings from all sectors of society”.
It notes that the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfilled fell by 11 per cent, “leaving Ireland within 143,000 tonnes of meeting its EU Landfill Directive diversion target for 2010”.
Overall, waste volumes were down to less than three million tonnes.
Commenting on the report’s findings, EPA director Laura Burke, said: “The economic downturn is having a marked effect on waste generation, particularly in the commercial waste and the construction and demolition waste streams.
“While the reductions in waste generation and the improvements in recovery seen in 2009 are welcome, we must continue to focus on resource efficiency to ensure that when economic growth does return, it is not accompanied by a surge in waste generation.”
The report “clearly shows that Ireland is expected to meet a key EU target for diverting biodegradable municipal waste from landfill in 2010”.
However, it warned that the tougher EU targets for 2013 and 2016 would be more difficult to achieve.
“Urgent and sustained actions are required if Ireland is to meet these EU targets, including the further roll-out of source-segregated collections, recovery of organic waste and development of infrastructure for the pre-treatment of municipal waste prior to disposal.”
These actions would include ensuring that there are adequate facilities to treat “very large quantities” of organic (particularly food) waste that must be collected separately and diverted from landfill and also for the organic component of the mixed residual waste stream.
There was also a need to develop outlets for the products of such treatment, update and clarify national waste policy, promote food waste prevention through national waste prevention programme initiatives and put in place more source-separated collection services.
“The new EU Waste Framework Directive, which came into effect in December 2010, will be a significant influence and driver of change in waste management practices and governance in Ireland and elsewhere over the coming decade,” Ms Burke said.
The full report is at epa.ie/downloads/pubs/waste/stats
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
This followed a 5 per cent drop in waste volumes during the previous year “in line with reductions in GDP and personal consumption levels”, the agency said, noting that this had happened despite an increase in the Republic’s population.
As a result, “Ireland is currently on track to meet its EU Landfill Directive diversion target for biodegradable municipal waste for 2010” while the recovery rate for packaging – at 70 per cent – is already ahead of the EU’s 60 per cent target for 2011.
The Economic and Social Research Institute, in a 2009 report commissioned by Dublin City Council to justify the Poolbeg incinerator, forecasted that waste levels would continue to grow by about 4 per cent per annum to 2025.
The 8.4 per cent fall in waste volumes in 2009 was most pronounced in the construction sector, where the amount of waste being generated declined by 62 per cent, followed by the commercial sector (12 per cent) and households (3 per cent).
However, the EPA report calls for continued efforts to divert biodegradable waste from landfill, improve the use of three-bin source-separated waste collection services, and “prevent waste arisings from all sectors of society”.
It notes that the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfilled fell by 11 per cent, “leaving Ireland within 143,000 tonnes of meeting its EU Landfill Directive diversion target for 2010”.
Overall, waste volumes were down to less than three million tonnes.
Commenting on the report’s findings, EPA director Laura Burke, said: “The economic downturn is having a marked effect on waste generation, particularly in the commercial waste and the construction and demolition waste streams.
“While the reductions in waste generation and the improvements in recovery seen in 2009 are welcome, we must continue to focus on resource efficiency to ensure that when economic growth does return, it is not accompanied by a surge in waste generation.”
The report “clearly shows that Ireland is expected to meet a key EU target for diverting biodegradable municipal waste from landfill in 2010”.
However, it warned that the tougher EU targets for 2013 and 2016 would be more difficult to achieve.
“Urgent and sustained actions are required if Ireland is to meet these EU targets, including the further roll-out of source-segregated collections, recovery of organic waste and development of infrastructure for the pre-treatment of municipal waste prior to disposal.”
These actions would include ensuring that there are adequate facilities to treat “very large quantities” of organic (particularly food) waste that must be collected separately and diverted from landfill and also for the organic component of the mixed residual waste stream.
There was also a need to develop outlets for the products of such treatment, update and clarify national waste policy, promote food waste prevention through national waste prevention programme initiatives and put in place more source-separated collection services.
“The new EU Waste Framework Directive, which came into effect in December 2010, will be a significant influence and driver of change in waste management practices and governance in Ireland and elsewhere over the coming decade,” Ms Burke said.
The full report is at epa.ie/downloads/pubs/waste/stats
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Gormley launches Consultation on Draft Waste Policy
Mr. John Gormley, TD, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, has launched a public consultation on a Draft Statement of Waste Policy.
The Minister said the Draft Policy was intended to map the future of waste management for the next decade and beyond.
“The fundamental aim of the new draft policy is to protect the environment, reduce costs for householders and businesses - while, at the same time, promoting job creation and innovation in the waste industry,” Minister Gormley said. “Waste is not a problem that has to be buried or burned. Waste is a resource that can create jobs, improve competitiveness and enhance prosperity.”
Last November, the Minister launched a report underpinning the major review of waste management policy. The report, commissioned by the Minister on foot of a commitment in the Programme for Government, examined all aspects of waste management policy - from prevention and minimisation to the management of residual waste. The report was compiled by a group of Irish and international consultants led by Dr. Dominic Hogg of Eunomia Research and Consulting.
“This is the next step in developing a resource-based and sustainable waste policy for Ireland. By providing for a strong competitive waste industry, I believe we will see delivery of a cost-effective service and high levels of environmental performance," said the Minister.
Minister Gormley said that the three key objectives of the proposed policy were -
* to ensure that the environment is protected and enhanced;
* to ensure that the cost of waste services are driven down for consumers and businesses - while, at the same time, improving the quality of those services - and
* to provide the policies, incentives and flexibilities that will enable waste firms to continue to invest and innovate in delivering new technologies and additional jobs in the waste sector.
Key elements of the policy include targets to reduce residual waste levels available for landfill and incineration, additional levies for landfill and incineration and new standards for the types of services consumers should expect.
"This new draft waste policy is ambitious and it will have consequences. It will create jobs and enhance environmental protection - but, I have to be clear that it will inevitably have consequences for the size and location of residual waste infrastructure.
“The policy decisions which will be taken by Government at the end of this process will affect everyone, so I look forward to receiving a wide variety of views as part of the consultation process.”
The Minister also launched draft Regulations which would see a phased introduction of the provision of food waste collections for households. It is proposed that all authorised waste collectors would have to provide such a collection service for the main cities by July of next year, with the service being rolled out to other urban areas by January 2012.
“These draft regulations are another step in ensuring Ireland is ready to meet its EU obligations for the diversion of biodegradable waste away from landfill,” commented the Minister.
A third consultation was also opened by the Minister, as he reopened the consultation on an Environmental Report, prepared according to Strategic Environmental Assessment requirements, to inform the policy making process for waste management in respect of a proposed Section 60 policy direction on a proposed cap to incineration capacity as a proportion of municipal waste arisings.
The Minister explained that he was reopening the consultation to allow those who had made earlier submissions - and others - to provide their views in light of the publication of both the report underpinning the International Review of Waste Policy and of the publication of the Draft Statement of Waste Policy.
“I have always championed the role of public consultation in the policy-making process and this is why I am encouraging all sectors to participate in this important consultation,” concluded the Minister.
All three consultations will be open for receipt of submissions until 1 October 2010.
www.buckplanning.ie
The Minister said the Draft Policy was intended to map the future of waste management for the next decade and beyond.
“The fundamental aim of the new draft policy is to protect the environment, reduce costs for householders and businesses - while, at the same time, promoting job creation and innovation in the waste industry,” Minister Gormley said. “Waste is not a problem that has to be buried or burned. Waste is a resource that can create jobs, improve competitiveness and enhance prosperity.”
Last November, the Minister launched a report underpinning the major review of waste management policy. The report, commissioned by the Minister on foot of a commitment in the Programme for Government, examined all aspects of waste management policy - from prevention and minimisation to the management of residual waste. The report was compiled by a group of Irish and international consultants led by Dr. Dominic Hogg of Eunomia Research and Consulting.
“This is the next step in developing a resource-based and sustainable waste policy for Ireland. By providing for a strong competitive waste industry, I believe we will see delivery of a cost-effective service and high levels of environmental performance," said the Minister.
Minister Gormley said that the three key objectives of the proposed policy were -
* to ensure that the environment is protected and enhanced;
* to ensure that the cost of waste services are driven down for consumers and businesses - while, at the same time, improving the quality of those services - and
* to provide the policies, incentives and flexibilities that will enable waste firms to continue to invest and innovate in delivering new technologies and additional jobs in the waste sector.
Key elements of the policy include targets to reduce residual waste levels available for landfill and incineration, additional levies for landfill and incineration and new standards for the types of services consumers should expect.
"This new draft waste policy is ambitious and it will have consequences. It will create jobs and enhance environmental protection - but, I have to be clear that it will inevitably have consequences for the size and location of residual waste infrastructure.
“The policy decisions which will be taken by Government at the end of this process will affect everyone, so I look forward to receiving a wide variety of views as part of the consultation process.”
The Minister also launched draft Regulations which would see a phased introduction of the provision of food waste collections for households. It is proposed that all authorised waste collectors would have to provide such a collection service for the main cities by July of next year, with the service being rolled out to other urban areas by January 2012.
“These draft regulations are another step in ensuring Ireland is ready to meet its EU obligations for the diversion of biodegradable waste away from landfill,” commented the Minister.
A third consultation was also opened by the Minister, as he reopened the consultation on an Environmental Report, prepared according to Strategic Environmental Assessment requirements, to inform the policy making process for waste management in respect of a proposed Section 60 policy direction on a proposed cap to incineration capacity as a proportion of municipal waste arisings.
The Minister explained that he was reopening the consultation to allow those who had made earlier submissions - and others - to provide their views in light of the publication of both the report underpinning the International Review of Waste Policy and of the publication of the Draft Statement of Waste Policy.
“I have always championed the role of public consultation in the policy-making process and this is why I am encouraging all sectors to participate in this important consultation,” concluded the Minister.
All three consultations will be open for receipt of submissions until 1 October 2010.
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 30 May 2010
Locals 'horrified' at granting of licence for Lusk landfill
A 300,000-TONNE capacity regional landfill near Lusk in north Dublin, in which one-sixth of the county’s waste will be dumped, has been granted a waste licence by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The licence for the landfill, one of the most contested developments ever proposed for the region, is subject to more than 250 conditions relating to environmental management operation, control and monitoring.
The EPA held two public hearings on the development and said the conditions take into account concerns expressed at those hearings. However, local residents opposing the development said they were “horrified” by the decision, which they have referred to the European Commission and the European Petitions Committee.
The EPA yesterday said it was satisfied that operation of the facility in line with conditions of the licence would not adversely affect human health or the environment, and would meet all relevant national and EU standards.
The conditions, it said, impose “strict controls” on all facility emissions. They require that leachate – contaminated landfill liquid – be collected and treated to prevent contamination of soil and ground water. Odour management infrastructure must be installed and all waste must be pre-treated so only residual waste is dumped.
Strict monitoring will be required, the EPA said, particularly in relation to ground water, which will be monitored throughout the life of the landfill and after its closure in 30 years.
The licence granted to Fingal County Council would allow 500,000 tonnes of waste to be dumped annually at the landfill, but the planning permission for the plant, granted by An Bord Pleanála last year, restricts the intake to 300,000 tonnes a year.
Nevitt Lusk Action Group,which objected to both the EPA and An Bord Pleanála against the development, said the facility was unnecessary and would destroy a valuable ground water resource.
“We’re not surprised by the EPA decision, but we’re still absolutely horrified by the Government and Government agency’s lack of foresight in allowing this to go ahead,” group spokeswoman Gemma Larkin said.
Since Fingal had applied for the facility, Dublin City Council had been granted permission for the Poolbeg incinerator, which would take the waste intended for the landfill, Ms Larkin said. The landfill would also destroy ground-water essential to the horticulture industry in the area, she said.
Local Green Party TD Trevor Sargent said the EPA decision was based on outdated policies.
A spokeswoman for Fingal said the council was considering the conditions and sub-conditions in the waste licence, and intended to proceed with the development.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The licence for the landfill, one of the most contested developments ever proposed for the region, is subject to more than 250 conditions relating to environmental management operation, control and monitoring.
The EPA held two public hearings on the development and said the conditions take into account concerns expressed at those hearings. However, local residents opposing the development said they were “horrified” by the decision, which they have referred to the European Commission and the European Petitions Committee.
The EPA yesterday said it was satisfied that operation of the facility in line with conditions of the licence would not adversely affect human health or the environment, and would meet all relevant national and EU standards.
The conditions, it said, impose “strict controls” on all facility emissions. They require that leachate – contaminated landfill liquid – be collected and treated to prevent contamination of soil and ground water. Odour management infrastructure must be installed and all waste must be pre-treated so only residual waste is dumped.
Strict monitoring will be required, the EPA said, particularly in relation to ground water, which will be monitored throughout the life of the landfill and after its closure in 30 years.
The licence granted to Fingal County Council would allow 500,000 tonnes of waste to be dumped annually at the landfill, but the planning permission for the plant, granted by An Bord Pleanála last year, restricts the intake to 300,000 tonnes a year.
Nevitt Lusk Action Group,which objected to both the EPA and An Bord Pleanála against the development, said the facility was unnecessary and would destroy a valuable ground water resource.
“We’re not surprised by the EPA decision, but we’re still absolutely horrified by the Government and Government agency’s lack of foresight in allowing this to go ahead,” group spokeswoman Gemma Larkin said.
Since Fingal had applied for the facility, Dublin City Council had been granted permission for the Poolbeg incinerator, which would take the waste intended for the landfill, Ms Larkin said. The landfill would also destroy ground-water essential to the horticulture industry in the area, she said.
Local Green Party TD Trevor Sargent said the EPA decision was based on outdated policies.
A spokeswoman for Fingal said the council was considering the conditions and sub-conditions in the waste licence, and intended to proceed with the development.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Gormley sets out Roadmap to New Waste Policy
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr. John Gormley, TD, has set out his plans for the delivery of a new waste management policy for Ireland.
The process will involve significant consultation with key stakeholders and the general public over the coming weeks. “I want to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to contribute to the development of the Government’s waste management policy. The policy will focus on moving Ireland away from an over-emphasis on residual waste management and to a focus on prevention, minimisation and recycling.”
As a first step in the process, the Minister launched a consultation on a draft Bill which has been approved by Government for the application of levies to landfills and incinerators.
The levies will be designed to ensure material which can be recycled and add value is not drawn to large scale residual waste treatment facilities. Therefore, it is envisaged that a banded series of levies will be applied to facilities based on capacity.
“In order to have the dissuasive effect required, those who process more, will pay more,“said the Minister.
The levies are also seen as a means of driving material away from landfill, in order to meet challenging EU targets.
“Levies are just part of a range of measures which will contribute to the development of a sustainable, resource-based waste management policy,” added the Minister.
In the coming weeks, Minister Gormley will be launching a consultation document which will set out the various elements being considered as part of the development of a new waste management policy for the country. As part of this process, he will prioritise engagement with the public on specific issues in the document including the management of biodegradable waste through the rollout of brown bins and home composting and the capping of the volume of material permitted to be sent for incineration.
“Waste, when viewed as a resource, has the potential to make a significant contribution to economic recovery through the development of a vibrant recycling sector using the most advanced technologies,” he said.
The proposals mean that a tonne of waste going to landfill will have a €75 levy by 2012 - however, that figure could increase.
Incinerators face a similarly significant hit - but larger facilities, which process more waste, will be compelled to pay more.
This strategy of a sliding scale of levies could pose a particular problem for Dublin's Poolbeg incinerator, with its massive 600,000 tonne capacity.
In addition, incinerators also face a cap - or limit - on the amount of waste they can accept.
www.buckplanning.ie
The process will involve significant consultation with key stakeholders and the general public over the coming weeks. “I want to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to contribute to the development of the Government’s waste management policy. The policy will focus on moving Ireland away from an over-emphasis on residual waste management and to a focus on prevention, minimisation and recycling.”
As a first step in the process, the Minister launched a consultation on a draft Bill which has been approved by Government for the application of levies to landfills and incinerators.
The levies will be designed to ensure material which can be recycled and add value is not drawn to large scale residual waste treatment facilities. Therefore, it is envisaged that a banded series of levies will be applied to facilities based on capacity.
“In order to have the dissuasive effect required, those who process more, will pay more,“said the Minister.
The levies are also seen as a means of driving material away from landfill, in order to meet challenging EU targets.
“Levies are just part of a range of measures which will contribute to the development of a sustainable, resource-based waste management policy,” added the Minister.
In the coming weeks, Minister Gormley will be launching a consultation document which will set out the various elements being considered as part of the development of a new waste management policy for the country. As part of this process, he will prioritise engagement with the public on specific issues in the document including the management of biodegradable waste through the rollout of brown bins and home composting and the capping of the volume of material permitted to be sent for incineration.
“Waste, when viewed as a resource, has the potential to make a significant contribution to economic recovery through the development of a vibrant recycling sector using the most advanced technologies,” he said.
The proposals mean that a tonne of waste going to landfill will have a €75 levy by 2012 - however, that figure could increase.
Incinerators face a similarly significant hit - but larger facilities, which process more waste, will be compelled to pay more.
This strategy of a sliding scale of levies could pose a particular problem for Dublin's Poolbeg incinerator, with its massive 600,000 tonne capacity.
In addition, incinerators also face a cap - or limit - on the amount of waste they can accept.
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Waste contracts worth millions to be offered to private landfill operators
WASTE CONTRACTS worth tens of millions of euro are to be offered to private landfill operators by the four Dublin local authorities when the last Dublin regional landfill closes at the end of this year.
Almost all residual household waste collected in Dublin will be in the hands of private waste companies following the closure of the landfill at Arthurstown, near Kill, Co Kildare, next December.
The landfill, which accepts 600,000 tonnes of municipal waste per annum was due to close in 2007. An Bord Pleanála granted an extension of the facility until December 21st, 2010, but no further deposits of household waste will be permitted after this date.
It was initially envisaged there would be a short time lag between the closure of Arthurstown and the opening of the Poolbeg incinerator, and that during this period waste would be sent to the planned landfill at Nevitt, near Lusk, a Fingal local authority area.
However, while the Lusk facility was granted planning permission last year following protracted Bord Pleanála hearings on the case held on three occasions over two years, it still has not been granted an operating licence from the Environmental Protection Agency. The Poolbeg incinerator will not be operational until 2013 at the earliest. and the region’s local authorities have no other facilities to deal with household waste under their control.
They are now in a position where they will have run out of landfill space at the end of the year, and apart from small amounts of capacity in neighbouring county council landfill facilities, they will have to seek tenders from the private sector to deal with waste.
Dublin City Council has in the last week advertised for interested parties to enter into talks on the processing of up to 350,000 tonnes of waste annually.
While contracts have not yet been put out to tender, a source close to the council has said they are likely to be worth tens of millions of euro for the three years until the Poolbeg incinerator is scheduled to open.
The Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA), which is opposed to the Poolbeg incinerator, has several landfill operators, including Greenstar one of the largest private landfill operators in the region, within its membership. A spokesman for the IWMA said last night that the decision on whether to tender for any new contracts was a matter for the individual members.
However, he said: “Just as Dublin City Council expects that private industry can provide a short-term solution to this waste issue it is plain and obvious that industry can supply a long-term solution also.
“This, again, highlights the fact that the Poolbeg incinerator is simply too large for the Dublin region and is possibly unnecessary.”
Greenstar could not provide a spokesperson yesterday.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Almost all residual household waste collected in Dublin will be in the hands of private waste companies following the closure of the landfill at Arthurstown, near Kill, Co Kildare, next December.
The landfill, which accepts 600,000 tonnes of municipal waste per annum was due to close in 2007. An Bord Pleanála granted an extension of the facility until December 21st, 2010, but no further deposits of household waste will be permitted after this date.
It was initially envisaged there would be a short time lag between the closure of Arthurstown and the opening of the Poolbeg incinerator, and that during this period waste would be sent to the planned landfill at Nevitt, near Lusk, a Fingal local authority area.
However, while the Lusk facility was granted planning permission last year following protracted Bord Pleanála hearings on the case held on three occasions over two years, it still has not been granted an operating licence from the Environmental Protection Agency. The Poolbeg incinerator will not be operational until 2013 at the earliest. and the region’s local authorities have no other facilities to deal with household waste under their control.
They are now in a position where they will have run out of landfill space at the end of the year, and apart from small amounts of capacity in neighbouring county council landfill facilities, they will have to seek tenders from the private sector to deal with waste.
Dublin City Council has in the last week advertised for interested parties to enter into talks on the processing of up to 350,000 tonnes of waste annually.
While contracts have not yet been put out to tender, a source close to the council has said they are likely to be worth tens of millions of euro for the three years until the Poolbeg incinerator is scheduled to open.
The Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA), which is opposed to the Poolbeg incinerator, has several landfill operators, including Greenstar one of the largest private landfill operators in the region, within its membership. A spokesman for the IWMA said last night that the decision on whether to tender for any new contracts was a matter for the individual members.
However, he said: “Just as Dublin City Council expects that private industry can provide a short-term solution to this waste issue it is plain and obvious that industry can supply a long-term solution also.
“This, again, highlights the fact that the Poolbeg incinerator is simply too large for the Dublin region and is possibly unnecessary.”
Greenstar could not provide a spokesperson yesterday.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Errors force ESRI to withdraw waste document
The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) is to withdraw a controversial report it published on waste management in Dublin because of errors in the document.
The report, which was published last week, criticised environment minister John Gormley’s waste strategy, leading the minister to query the think-tank’s standards in preparing the report. Now, in an embarrassing move for the ESRI, one of its most high-profile environment experts has said that the report is being pulled from circulation.
Professor Richard Tol said that the move was being taken after the institute identified significant errors after publication.
He confirmed that the conclusions reached in the report would be reviewed in light of the errors and could potentially be changed. ‘‘Any errors identified will be corrected . . . we’re in the middle of redoing what needs to be redone," Tol told The Sunday Business Post.
He added that it would be ‘‘premature’’ to say what errors had been identified. However, he acknowledged that the ESRI had incorrectly claimed that the cost of carbon emissions from a large-scale incinerator did not have to be factored into any future incineration levy, as it was already included under the EU’s Emissions Trading System.
‘‘I can confirm that carbon dioxide emissions from incineration are not covered by the EU Emissions Trading System, contrary to what was stated in the ESRI report," said Tol.
It is understood the ESRI will publish an amended report this week or early next week.
The move follows criticism of the report by environmental scientists and economists, who claimed it was flawed and biased in favour of incineration.
Gormley accused the ESRI of allowing itself to be part of a public relations exercise to promote the agenda of its client, Dublin City Council.
The local authority is planning to build a large incinerator at Poolbeg in Dublin in partnership with US energy firm Covanta. The council has already come under fire over the alteration of waste strategy reports drawn up by consultancy firm RPS. The Sunday Business Post has also learned the council has spent €21 million on consultancy for the incinerator project - over three times more than expected.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
The report, which was published last week, criticised environment minister John Gormley’s waste strategy, leading the minister to query the think-tank’s standards in preparing the report. Now, in an embarrassing move for the ESRI, one of its most high-profile environment experts has said that the report is being pulled from circulation.
Professor Richard Tol said that the move was being taken after the institute identified significant errors after publication.
He confirmed that the conclusions reached in the report would be reviewed in light of the errors and could potentially be changed. ‘‘Any errors identified will be corrected . . . we’re in the middle of redoing what needs to be redone," Tol told The Sunday Business Post.
He added that it would be ‘‘premature’’ to say what errors had been identified. However, he acknowledged that the ESRI had incorrectly claimed that the cost of carbon emissions from a large-scale incinerator did not have to be factored into any future incineration levy, as it was already included under the EU’s Emissions Trading System.
‘‘I can confirm that carbon dioxide emissions from incineration are not covered by the EU Emissions Trading System, contrary to what was stated in the ESRI report," said Tol.
It is understood the ESRI will publish an amended report this week or early next week.
The move follows criticism of the report by environmental scientists and economists, who claimed it was flawed and biased in favour of incineration.
Gormley accused the ESRI of allowing itself to be part of a public relations exercise to promote the agenda of its client, Dublin City Council.
The local authority is planning to build a large incinerator at Poolbeg in Dublin in partnership with US energy firm Covanta. The council has already come under fire over the alteration of waste strategy reports drawn up by consultancy firm RPS. The Sunday Business Post has also learned the council has spent €21 million on consultancy for the incinerator project - over three times more than expected.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
50% rise in landfill levy to 'encourage green alternatives'
Environment Minister John Gormley has increased the landfill charge to €30 - a 50% increase in just over a month and he intends increasing it further in the future.
Last December, the minister increased the landfill levy from €20 to €25 per tonne as part of a strategy to encourage other forms of disposal - such as recycling, mechanical and biological treatments.
"By increasing the levy to €30 per tonne, I am beginning to address the race to the bottom in landfill gate fees which we have witnessed and which acts as a barrier to achieving the diversion targets," Mr Gormley said.
The minister is to publish a bill on levies, which will see the landfill levy to increase to €50 per tonne in 2011 and €75 in 2012. The minister said he was committed to implementing the measures needed to ensure Ireland meets 2010 and subsequent EU landfill diversion targets.
About 3.4 million tonnes of municipal waste is generated annually - and, of this, 2 million is disposed in landfills, equating to a 36% recycling rate. Achieving the national recycling and biological treatment targets and those of the landfill directive will result in the diversion of about 80% of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill by 2016.
Biodegradable waste includes food and garden waste, wood, paper, cardboard and textiles and makes up about 75% of landfill material. To meet the directive’s target, around 1.4 million tonnes of biodegradable waste will need to be diverted this year, rising to 1.8m tonnes by 2016.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reviewing landfill licences to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill. Data from the EPA’s National Waste Report 2008 shows the quantity of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill fell by almost 20% in 2008 to 1.2 million tonnes.
Mr Gormley said Ireland must divert a further 280,000 tonnes of bio- degradable waste by July to meet the first landfill directive target date.
He stressed that the roll-out of the brown bin service was crucial in meeting targets - "The separate kerbside collection of household food and garden waste in brown bins increased substantially from 18,705 tonnes in 2007 to 37,920 tonnes in 2008 and I would expect to see further increases in 2009."
Mr Gormley said local authorities are urged to hasten the roll out of segregated collections for organic waste (brown bins) and to promote home composting.
www.buckplanning.ie
Last December, the minister increased the landfill levy from €20 to €25 per tonne as part of a strategy to encourage other forms of disposal - such as recycling, mechanical and biological treatments.
"By increasing the levy to €30 per tonne, I am beginning to address the race to the bottom in landfill gate fees which we have witnessed and which acts as a barrier to achieving the diversion targets," Mr Gormley said.
The minister is to publish a bill on levies, which will see the landfill levy to increase to €50 per tonne in 2011 and €75 in 2012. The minister said he was committed to implementing the measures needed to ensure Ireland meets 2010 and subsequent EU landfill diversion targets.
About 3.4 million tonnes of municipal waste is generated annually - and, of this, 2 million is disposed in landfills, equating to a 36% recycling rate. Achieving the national recycling and biological treatment targets and those of the landfill directive will result in the diversion of about 80% of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill by 2016.
Biodegradable waste includes food and garden waste, wood, paper, cardboard and textiles and makes up about 75% of landfill material. To meet the directive’s target, around 1.4 million tonnes of biodegradable waste will need to be diverted this year, rising to 1.8m tonnes by 2016.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reviewing landfill licences to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill. Data from the EPA’s National Waste Report 2008 shows the quantity of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill fell by almost 20% in 2008 to 1.2 million tonnes.
Mr Gormley said Ireland must divert a further 280,000 tonnes of bio- degradable waste by July to meet the first landfill directive target date.
He stressed that the roll-out of the brown bin service was crucial in meeting targets - "The separate kerbside collection of household food and garden waste in brown bins increased substantially from 18,705 tonnes in 2007 to 37,920 tonnes in 2008 and I would expect to see further increases in 2009."
Mr Gormley said local authorities are urged to hasten the roll out of segregated collections for organic waste (brown bins) and to promote home composting.
www.buckplanning.ie
Minister - waste policy a matter for the Government
A spokesman for Environment Minister John Gormley said it was “difficult to understand the motive” of Dublin City Council in commissioning the ESRI report “apart from as an attempt to undermine the national review of waste policy”.
Noting a recent High Court judgment that was “highly critical” of the council’s implementation of waste policy, he said - “It is the Government that decides on waste policy and it is not up to local authorities ... to dictate to Government what national waste policy should be.”
The spokesman noted that the Fianna Fáil-Green Party programme for government “sets out a clear intention to review waste policy and, in this context, to place a cap on incineration capacity”. He said this had been signalled to Dublin city manager, John Tierney, in June 2007.
“The Minister has received a number of submissions on the waste review in recent weeks,” he said - adding that the ESRI report “is one further such input commissioned by an interest group” and would be considered as such - “even though it contained a number of errors”.
For example, it assumed that waste generation would “increase at Celtic Tiger rates ... but that recycling rates will stop increasing. It also assumes a status quo in terms of waste policy, charges or consumer and industry practice, which is clearly not the case in the real world”.
The Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA) described the report as “fundamentally flawed” - saying it “shows no understanding of the impact that the growth in recycling in the Dublin region has had - and will continue to have - on the amount of waste available for incineration”.
The battle lines:
* John Gormley says there will not be enough waste generated to fuel the Poolbeg incinerator - the ESRI says there will.
* Mr Gormley plans to introduce a cap - or limit - on the amount of waste that can be incinerated - the ESRI says this means legally-binding targets will be missed and fines imposed.
* If a cap is put in place, it will encourage a switch to other forms of treatment - the ESRI says it will delay projects and add to the cost of building facilities.
* The Environment Minister says that only waste produced in Dublin should be treated in Poolbeg - there is no reason for this, says the ESRI.
* The minister says the amount of household waste being generated is falling because more people are recycling and composting - the ESRI says waste generated will increase by 4pc per year from 2011, when the economy returns to growth.
* The Government assumes that up to 70pc of all waste will be recycled - this is 'extremely unlikely to be successful or cost-effective' according to the ESRI.
* Mr Gormley wants household waste generation to fall from 300kgs to 150kgs by 2020 - England and Wales have similar targets, but will not achieve them for 20 years, the ESRI says.
The Irish Independent and The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Noting a recent High Court judgment that was “highly critical” of the council’s implementation of waste policy, he said - “It is the Government that decides on waste policy and it is not up to local authorities ... to dictate to Government what national waste policy should be.”
The spokesman noted that the Fianna Fáil-Green Party programme for government “sets out a clear intention to review waste policy and, in this context, to place a cap on incineration capacity”. He said this had been signalled to Dublin city manager, John Tierney, in June 2007.
“The Minister has received a number of submissions on the waste review in recent weeks,” he said - adding that the ESRI report “is one further such input commissioned by an interest group” and would be considered as such - “even though it contained a number of errors”.
For example, it assumed that waste generation would “increase at Celtic Tiger rates ... but that recycling rates will stop increasing. It also assumes a status quo in terms of waste policy, charges or consumer and industry practice, which is clearly not the case in the real world”.
The Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA) described the report as “fundamentally flawed” - saying it “shows no understanding of the impact that the growth in recycling in the Dublin region has had - and will continue to have - on the amount of waste available for incineration”.
The battle lines:
* John Gormley says there will not be enough waste generated to fuel the Poolbeg incinerator - the ESRI says there will.
* Mr Gormley plans to introduce a cap - or limit - on the amount of waste that can be incinerated - the ESRI says this means legally-binding targets will be missed and fines imposed.
* If a cap is put in place, it will encourage a switch to other forms of treatment - the ESRI says it will delay projects and add to the cost of building facilities.
* The Environment Minister says that only waste produced in Dublin should be treated in Poolbeg - there is no reason for this, says the ESRI.
* The minister says the amount of household waste being generated is falling because more people are recycling and composting - the ESRI says waste generated will increase by 4pc per year from 2011, when the economy returns to growth.
* The Government assumes that up to 70pc of all waste will be recycled - this is 'extremely unlikely to be successful or cost-effective' according to the ESRI.
* Mr Gormley wants household waste generation to fall from 300kgs to 150kgs by 2020 - England and Wales have similar targets, but will not achieve them for 20 years, the ESRI says.
The Irish Independent and The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Minister - waste policy a matter for the Government
A spokesman for Environment Minister John Gormley said it was “difficult to understand the motive” of Dublin City Council in commissioning the ESRI report “apart from as an attempt to undermine the national review of waste policy”.
Noting a recent High Court judgment that was “highly critical” of the council’s implementation of waste policy, he said - “It is the Government that decides on waste policy and it is not up to local authorities ... to dictate to Government what national waste policy should be.”
The spokesman noted that the Fianna Fáil-Green Party programme for government “sets out a clear intention to review waste policy and, in this context, to place a cap on incineration capacity”. He said this had been signalled to Dublin city manager, John Tierney, in June 2007.
“The Minister has received a number of submissions on the waste review in recent weeks,” he said - adding that the ESRI report “is one further such input commissioned by an interest group” and would be considered as such - “even though it contained a number of errors”.
For example, it assumed that waste generation would “increase at Celtic Tiger rates ... but that recycling rates will stop increasing. It also assumes a status quo in terms of waste policy, charges or consumer and industry practice, which is clearly not the case in the real world”.
The Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA) described the report as “fundamentally flawed” - saying it “shows no understanding of the impact that the growth in recycling in the Dublin region has had - and will continue to have - on the amount of waste available for incineration”.
The battle lines:
* John Gormley says there will not be enough waste generated to fuel the Poolbeg incinerator - the ESRI says there will.
* Mr Gormley plans to introduce a cap - or limit - on the amount of waste that can be incinerated - the ESRI says this means legally-binding targets will be missed and fines imposed.
* If a cap is put in place, it will encourage a switch to other forms of treatment - the ESRI says it will delay projects and add to the cost of building facilities.
* The Environment Minister says that only waste produced in Dublin should be treated in Poolbeg - there is no reason for this, says the ESRI.
* The minister says the amount of household waste being generated is falling because more people are recycling and composting - the ESRI says waste generated will increase by 4pc per year from 2011, when the economy returns to growth.
* The Government assumes that up to 70pc of all waste will be recycled - this is 'extremely unlikely to be successful or cost-effective' according to the ESRI.
* Mr Gormley wants household waste generation to fall from 300kgs to 150kgs by 2020 - England and Wales have similar targets, but will not achieve them for 20 years, the ESRI says.
The Irish Independent and The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Noting a recent High Court judgment that was “highly critical” of the council’s implementation of waste policy, he said - “It is the Government that decides on waste policy and it is not up to local authorities ... to dictate to Government what national waste policy should be.”
The spokesman noted that the Fianna Fáil-Green Party programme for government “sets out a clear intention to review waste policy and, in this context, to place a cap on incineration capacity”. He said this had been signalled to Dublin city manager, John Tierney, in June 2007.
“The Minister has received a number of submissions on the waste review in recent weeks,” he said - adding that the ESRI report “is one further such input commissioned by an interest group” and would be considered as such - “even though it contained a number of errors”.
For example, it assumed that waste generation would “increase at Celtic Tiger rates ... but that recycling rates will stop increasing. It also assumes a status quo in terms of waste policy, charges or consumer and industry practice, which is clearly not the case in the real world”.
The Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA) described the report as “fundamentally flawed” - saying it “shows no understanding of the impact that the growth in recycling in the Dublin region has had - and will continue to have - on the amount of waste available for incineration”.
The battle lines:
* John Gormley says there will not be enough waste generated to fuel the Poolbeg incinerator - the ESRI says there will.
* Mr Gormley plans to introduce a cap - or limit - on the amount of waste that can be incinerated - the ESRI says this means legally-binding targets will be missed and fines imposed.
* If a cap is put in place, it will encourage a switch to other forms of treatment - the ESRI says it will delay projects and add to the cost of building facilities.
* The Environment Minister says that only waste produced in Dublin should be treated in Poolbeg - there is no reason for this, says the ESRI.
* The minister says the amount of household waste being generated is falling because more people are recycling and composting - the ESRI says waste generated will increase by 4pc per year from 2011, when the economy returns to growth.
* The Government assumes that up to 70pc of all waste will be recycled - this is 'extremely unlikely to be successful or cost-effective' according to the ESRI.
* Mr Gormley wants household waste generation to fall from 300kgs to 150kgs by 2020 - England and Wales have similar targets, but will not achieve them for 20 years, the ESRI says.
The Irish Independent and The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
ESRI at odds with department over waste review
THE ESRI has found itself on a collision course with the Department of the Environment after the think-tank described the department’s waste management review as "flawed," adding that it failed to create jobs, enhance competitiveness and meet EU Landfill Directive targets.
In response, the department said the ESRI report, commissioned by Dublin City Council, contains a "number of errors which would have a significant bearing on its main recommendations".
The council is already at loggerheads with Environment Minister John Gormley over its planned 600,000-tonne incinerator at Poolbeg, which the department says is too big.
The ESRI report, An Economic Approach to Municipal Waste Management Policy in Ireland, is published today.
Its authors say that waste management markets in Ireland aren’t working as well as they should by failing to handle greenhouse gas emissions properly and failing to introduce a tendering system for domestic waste disposal.
The study also calls a system to allow for the trading of landfill rights and for a much lower incinerator levy than set down by Eunomia’s International Review of Waste Management Policy.
Mr Gormley had said he expected the incineration level to be approximately €20-€38 per tonne while the ESRI suggested an urban incineration levy of a maximum of €5.07 per tonne. The ESRI suggested a €44-€55 levy for landfill while the minister set this levy at €50 by 2011 and €75 in 2012.
One of the report’s authors, Paul Gorecki, has questioned whether Eunomia’s review "provides a coherent and feasible basis on which to develop waste policy. Arbitrary limits on incineration and consequent expansion of MBT have no place in waste management policy.
"The international review’s setting of residual waste levies is flawed, suffering from both double regulation and double counting, with the result that some of the proposed levies are much higher than is appropriate."
Dominic Hogg, author of the international review, said there were serious mistakes in the ESRI report, including false inclusion of incineration in the emissions trading scheme and the use of incineration emissions figures that were too low by a factor of 10.
The author of the Dublin Region Thermal Treatment Needs Assessment report, Conor Walsh, added that the "the ESRI has serious questions to answer about the data used in this report".
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning
In response, the department said the ESRI report, commissioned by Dublin City Council, contains a "number of errors which would have a significant bearing on its main recommendations".
The council is already at loggerheads with Environment Minister John Gormley over its planned 600,000-tonne incinerator at Poolbeg, which the department says is too big.
The ESRI report, An Economic Approach to Municipal Waste Management Policy in Ireland, is published today.
Its authors say that waste management markets in Ireland aren’t working as well as they should by failing to handle greenhouse gas emissions properly and failing to introduce a tendering system for domestic waste disposal.
The study also calls a system to allow for the trading of landfill rights and for a much lower incinerator levy than set down by Eunomia’s International Review of Waste Management Policy.
Mr Gormley had said he expected the incineration level to be approximately €20-€38 per tonne while the ESRI suggested an urban incineration levy of a maximum of €5.07 per tonne. The ESRI suggested a €44-€55 levy for landfill while the minister set this levy at €50 by 2011 and €75 in 2012.
One of the report’s authors, Paul Gorecki, has questioned whether Eunomia’s review "provides a coherent and feasible basis on which to develop waste policy. Arbitrary limits on incineration and consequent expansion of MBT have no place in waste management policy.
"The international review’s setting of residual waste levies is flawed, suffering from both double regulation and double counting, with the result that some of the proposed levies are much higher than is appropriate."
Dominic Hogg, author of the international review, said there were serious mistakes in the ESRI report, including false inclusion of incineration in the emissions trading scheme and the use of incineration emissions figures that were too low by a factor of 10.
The author of the Dublin Region Thermal Treatment Needs Assessment report, Conor Walsh, added that the "the ESRI has serious questions to answer about the data used in this report".
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Councillors seek inquiry into issuing of permit
Members of Wicklow County Council have voted to ask the Minister for the Environment to hold a full public inquiry into “all aspects of the performance and functions of Wicklow County Council” in the issuing of a waste management permit in 2003.
The councillors, who passed the resolution by 14 votes to five, also resolved that the handling of a previous investigation by the Department of the Environment’s Local Government Audit Service (LGAS) be itself investigated.
Speaking at a special meeting of the county council, Independent councillor Tommy Cullen said the issue related to allegations that the council’s then director of services, Michael Nicholson, had ordered the shredding of a waste permit covering lands at Ballybeg, near Rathnew, in January 2003.
The waste permit had a commercial value of more than €400,000, he said and he claimed the Byrne family who owned the land could have lost their farm, been fined up to €12.7 million and faced up to 10 years in jail if they had been convicted of operating a waste facility without a permit.
A draft report of the previous LGAS investigation noted that Mr Nicholson had ordered the permit removed from the file and shredded.
The LGAS report noted that Wicklow county manager Eddie Sheehy had told the LGAS inspector he felt he had not been given accurate information by Mr Nicholson.
In an at times heated debate, Mr Sheehy said he was “appalled” to read in The Irish Times before Christmas that he had received inaccurate information on a number of occasions from Mr Nicholson. He said he wanted to make it clear that any information provided by Mr Nicholson was something Mr Nicholson had himself been told - “and not something he had made up”. He asked that the newspaper note his remarks.
However, he also acknowledged that inaccurate information relating to the waste permit was given to the Byrne family, the elected councillors and solicitors for the Byrne family, in denying that a waste permit had been shredded.
Mr Sheehy said the LGAS had ultimately determined that an “administrative error” had occurred, which had no further implications for the council. A new waste permit had been issued by the council.
He also said the Byrnes were ultimately able to realise the value of the reissued permit and the council had apologised for giving inaccurate information to the Byrnes’ solicitors. Mr Sheehy said he would co-operate with any properly held inquiry.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The councillors, who passed the resolution by 14 votes to five, also resolved that the handling of a previous investigation by the Department of the Environment’s Local Government Audit Service (LGAS) be itself investigated.
Speaking at a special meeting of the county council, Independent councillor Tommy Cullen said the issue related to allegations that the council’s then director of services, Michael Nicholson, had ordered the shredding of a waste permit covering lands at Ballybeg, near Rathnew, in January 2003.
The waste permit had a commercial value of more than €400,000, he said and he claimed the Byrne family who owned the land could have lost their farm, been fined up to €12.7 million and faced up to 10 years in jail if they had been convicted of operating a waste facility without a permit.
A draft report of the previous LGAS investigation noted that Mr Nicholson had ordered the permit removed from the file and shredded.
The LGAS report noted that Wicklow county manager Eddie Sheehy had told the LGAS inspector he felt he had not been given accurate information by Mr Nicholson.
In an at times heated debate, Mr Sheehy said he was “appalled” to read in The Irish Times before Christmas that he had received inaccurate information on a number of occasions from Mr Nicholson. He said he wanted to make it clear that any information provided by Mr Nicholson was something Mr Nicholson had himself been told - “and not something he had made up”. He asked that the newspaper note his remarks.
However, he also acknowledged that inaccurate information relating to the waste permit was given to the Byrne family, the elected councillors and solicitors for the Byrne family, in denying that a waste permit had been shredded.
Mr Sheehy said the LGAS had ultimately determined that an “administrative error” had occurred, which had no further implications for the council. A new waste permit had been issued by the council.
He also said the Byrnes were ultimately able to realise the value of the reissued permit and the council had apologised for giving inaccurate information to the Byrnes’ solicitors. Mr Sheehy said he would co-operate with any properly held inquiry.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 18 January 2010
Councils criticised by court over waste report
The High Court has severely criticised the four Dublin councils for 'massaging' key reports into Dublin’s waste sector to influence the outcome of a review.
The court said that a number of draft reports had been altered to suit the stance of the councils. The reports formed the basis for the councils’ subsequent justification to vary the capital’s waste policy.
However, this variation was quashed by Mr Justice Liam McKechnie in a recent ruling.
In his full judgment, which has been obtained by The Sunday Business Post, McKechnie said the reports contained comments written by the councils, indicating which parts of earlier drafts were acceptable to them. The councils then issued instructions to either delete or reword those parts 'that would not have supported their position'.
Such massaging of reports, which were later - in their edited versions - released publicly, is a strong indicator tome of unacceptable influence in a process supposedly carried out in the public interest," McKechnie said in his judgment.
The deletions and rewordings were carried out before the two technical reports were published in September 2007 and February 2008.
Dublin City Council formally varied the waste management plan for the Dublin region in March 2008, saying that only the councils or their contractors could collect waste. The move prompted legal action from several private waste firms.
The revelation that council officials influenced the content of the reports is contained in the unapproved High Court judgment delivered by McKechnie in the case taken by private operator Panda.
A spokesman for the council said - ‘‘the independent experts came to their own conclusions and stand over their reports’’.
However, McKechnie’s judgment said that the councils went ‘‘far beyond’’ simply having a preferred outcome to the process in mind. ‘‘From the start, there could have been no other outcome," he said.
The Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
The court said that a number of draft reports had been altered to suit the stance of the councils. The reports formed the basis for the councils’ subsequent justification to vary the capital’s waste policy.
However, this variation was quashed by Mr Justice Liam McKechnie in a recent ruling.
In his full judgment, which has been obtained by The Sunday Business Post, McKechnie said the reports contained comments written by the councils, indicating which parts of earlier drafts were acceptable to them. The councils then issued instructions to either delete or reword those parts 'that would not have supported their position'.
Such massaging of reports, which were later - in their edited versions - released publicly, is a strong indicator tome of unacceptable influence in a process supposedly carried out in the public interest," McKechnie said in his judgment.
The deletions and rewordings were carried out before the two technical reports were published in September 2007 and February 2008.
Dublin City Council formally varied the waste management plan for the Dublin region in March 2008, saying that only the councils or their contractors could collect waste. The move prompted legal action from several private waste firms.
The revelation that council officials influenced the content of the reports is contained in the unapproved High Court judgment delivered by McKechnie in the case taken by private operator Panda.
A spokesman for the council said - ‘‘the independent experts came to their own conclusions and stand over their reports’’.
However, McKechnie’s judgment said that the councils went ‘‘far beyond’’ simply having a preferred outcome to the process in mind. ‘‘From the start, there could have been no other outcome," he said.
The Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
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."
www.buckplanning.ie
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."
www.buckplanning.ie
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