Incineration ‘safer than backyard burning’

ENVIRONMENT Minister Dick Roche yesterday claimed that the 60,000 tonnes of waste burned in Irish backyards was a greater health threat than a one-million-tonne incinerator.

Robustly defending the Government’s incineration policy, Mr Roche said the 60,000 tonnes of waste burned illegally every year in this country leads to emissions of about 18g of dioxins. A million-tonne incinerator, he claimed, would emit just 0.54g of dioxins.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio, Mr Roche said an integrated waste system, made up of recycling, incineration and landfill, was “infinitely superior” to the current landfill system in Ireland.