Irish Cement plan to burn used tyres instead of coke fossil fuel gets deferred

Plans by Irish Cement to burn used tyres, instead of coke fossil fuel, at its Limerick plant, have been been deferred.

The company wants to switch to dry waste material to save on costs and secure the future of the plant, which employs 80 people, at Mungret, on the outskirts of the city.

The company lodged planning last month. However, this was withdrawn yesterday.

A spokesman said that, in recent days, the company had noted that the planning application had not been made available for public inspection, due to a procedural matter.

The company spokesman said: “We have engaged with Limerick City and County Council to allow this procedural issue to be resolved.”

He said the company was fully committed to switching to alternative energy sources to secure the future of the plant, and intended to resume the planning process when the current issue had been resolved.

A spokesman for Irish Cement said it would shortly be lodging a planning application with Limerick City and County Council for the replacement of fossil fuel with alternative fuels and raw materials, to improve the sustainability of their operations.

The Limerick site is Ireland’s oldest cement plant, having commenced operations 77 years ago.

The Irish Cement spokesman said: “Its operation has been sustained by continuous investment in new technologies and processes. “

After the recent period of reduced demand, production is, once again, on the increase at home and abroad for cement.

“This fuel-replacement programme will be key to sustaining this growth,” said Castlemungret plant manager, Pat Robinson.

“Based on experience in other cement plants, in Ireland and throughout Europe, the opportunity to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels will prove critical to our ability to operate competitively, and sustain jobs at Irish Cement Limerick, into the future.”

In making cement, the kiln has to be heated to more than 1,400C, higher than the 1,100C a volcano reaches.

Thousands of tonnes of used tyres will be ferried to the plant, along with shredded plastics, which waste-disposal companies cannot process.