Illegal fuel dumping costs council €1.1m

ILLEGAL dumping of waste fuel has cost a local authority an estimated €1.1 million.

A report on the dumping of “diesel wash” is to be presented by Monaghan County Council at a local authority meeting on Monday. The report outlines the scale of the dumping, and points out that it has been unable to take legal action against anyone.

Diesel wash is a by-product of the illegal processing of marked gas oil, which is normally used for home heating or agricultural machinery. Concentrated sulphuric acid is added to the gas oil, removing the dye. The resultant unmarked gas oil is sold illegally as road-use diesel.