Council dispels local fears over taking waste from closed landfill
Youghal Town Council manager Donal Barrett has assured councillors that the acceptance of part or all of Dungarvan’s waste isn’t under consideration, “active or otherwise”.
“Any suggestion to the contrary,” said Mr Barrett, “is utterly without foundation.”
That will be reassuring news for the people of Youghal who have expressed fears that the resort could ultimately become the dumping capital of Cork.
Sinn Féin councillor Martin Hallinan, who claimed he had been told by “reliable sources” that Waterford County Council is hoping to use the Youghal landfill now that the one in Dungarvan has been closed, said Mr Barrett’s reassurances would be “sweet music” to everyone in the town.
“Already it is planned to deposit more waste than ever before at the local landfill and it would be preposterous if Waterford County Council was allowed to use it as well,” he said.
The 15-hectare landfill takes in 37,000 tonnes of waste a year, but under Cork County Council proposals that figure will spectacularly spiral to 170,000 tonnes.
While the increased pressure on the Youghal landfill will be significantly reduced with the development of a county council landfill at Bottlehill, that facility is unlikely to be operational until late 2004.
The opening hours of the Youghal landfill have been modified to accommodate the increased tonnage leading to local concerns.
Green Party town councillor Liam Burke has warned that if the landfill planned for Bottlehill doesn’t open on schedule then the county’s waste could be dispatched in Youghal.
“That would be totally unacceptable because people would then see our town as the dumping capital of Cork,” said Mr Burke.
