No space for waste

Waste situation in Waterford has reached crisis point, writes South-East Correspondent Neans McSweeney.

TEN years after it began looking for an alternative to its two landfills which have now closed, Waterford city and county councils are now being forced to transport their waste to Carlow.

It’s costing a fortune and householders in the city and county are already bearing the brunt. In Co Waterford, a controversial €150 flat fee just for having a refuse service has been introduced. In the city, the fee is €120. In the Dungarvan Town Council area, the fee is €130.

The charges for wheelie bin and organic bin lifts are also up, as is the cost of the collection of dry, recyclable waste. And with plans for a new landfill in the area still caught up in a legal wrangle, there’s no end in sight for the dilemma.

Just last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it was proposing refusing Waterford County Council permission for a waste licence for a new landfill site at Garrynagree. It needs both planning permission and a waste licence to operate the site. It’s another hurdle which the council has to overcome.

The EPA gave a number of reasons for the proposed refusal, including an unacceptable risk of environmental pollution to the River Lickey and a real danger to the freshwater pearl mussel.

Lickey Concern Group secretary Margaret Power said: “We are delighted with the initial decision.”

Dungarvan mayor Fiachra Ó Céilleachair said: “It’s a wonderful lesson in local democracy.”

However, County Mayor Ger Barron described the intended refusal as “a major blow for Waterford County Council”.

Senior engineer in the Environment Section of Waterford County Council, Paul Daly, says an improved planning process for such developments is critically needed.

“We’re now 10 years down the line, we’ve spent €1 million, we’ve been through three High Court cases and a raft of other hurdles, yet it’s not over yet. It all shows up the need for a more streamlined planning process for these types of developments.

“We’re not trying to circumvent anything but this type of nonsense has to stop. There should be one process, one decision, one judicial review,” he says.

Meanwhile, the situation is now one of crisis. With Dungarvan and Tramore landfills closed, the city council faces a significant loss of income from commercial users, the authority says.

Waste from Waterford - 35,000 tonnes from the county and a further 85,000 tonnes per annum from the city - is now being brought from Waterford to Carlow by the county council at an estimated cost of around €700,000 per annum.

But its not the only cost being incurred by the county authority. It is now also faced with a €10m bill for remediation of its two closed landfills. The landfills, when remediated in accordance with the stringent conditions set by the EPA, will have the potential to be used as amenity areas.

Waterford’s problems are typically legacy ones. And while it struggles to find a place for its waste, its record in reusing, reducing and recycling is second to none.

A glance back shows that over the past 15 years, Waterford County Council has pioneered the development of sophisticated modern waste management practices.

During this time, it has been proactive and led the way in almost every area of waste management. Many of its waste operations have become best practice models for other local authorities.

Waterford County Council has been ahead of its time in recognising its corporate responsibility to protect and enhance the environment, a finite resource.

In the 1990s, the council led the way with the introduction of a “pay-per-use” (tag) system and was the first local authority in Ireland to provide a Civic Amenity/Recycling Centre, located in Lismore. The county has three such sites, which rank among the best facilities in the country.

In 2001, Waterford again led the way, being the first local authority in the country to provide a household recycling collection for its customers in both urban and rural areas.

In 2003, an extension of the rural collection routes resulted in the council servicing 95% of all households in the county. This is possibly the highest percentage collection for any rural authority.

Then 2003 also saw the opening of three state-of-the-art composting facilities, the introduction of a glass collection for pubs and restaurants, and the establishment of 40 bottle banks throughout the county. The bottle bank ratio of one bank per 1,200 people is “close to the best in Europe”, according to Repak.

Then 2004 saw Waterford become the first rural county to introduce a household brown/organic collection service in parallel with its recycling and residual waste collection.

Last year saw the opening of the Council’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) at Shandon, Dungarvan, the first such facility to be constructed and operated by a local authority. This plant is now operating successfully as the MRF for the south-east region and provides a much-needed service and valuable employment.

The council can boast 17 green schools in the county, which is the best record for any county in the south-east region.

Currently, Waterford county is recycling over a third of its waste and, with composting, is diverting more than half of its waste away from landfill.

As a consequence, the council is five years ahead of national targets.