Landfill fees driving private waste firms out of Kerry

FOUR of the main private waste contractors in Kerry, who had been using a council landfill near Tralee, have transferred their business to Limerick and Clare landfills because they are cheaper.

This will have implications for Kerry County Council’s 2005 budget and will mean an input of 29,000 tonnes of waste instead of the projected 40,000 tonnes at its landfill.

Charges to private contractors in Kerry are €170 per tonne, including a levy, compared to €155 in Clare and €140 in Limerick, senior environment engineer Brian Sweeney told a meeting yesterday.