Plans may get swept under the rug
A WAR of words broke out yesterday as the largest local authority and private waste disposers in the country disputed each other’s figures for the amount of waste which will have to be buried in Munster.
Cork County Council officials claimed that Greenstar had “grossly inflated” the amount of waste which would need disposing of in the region in the next few years.
Greenstar executives had said there would be a surplus of 300,000 tonnes per annum in the province, and this was one of the reasons they are seeking to develop a €20 million superdump on the Cork/Limerick border.
The landfill is proposed for Ballyguyroe, near Kildorrery, Co Cork. Greenstar wants to bury 1.45 million tonnes of waste there over a 10-year period.
On day two of the Bord Pleanála hearing in Mallow, the county council went on the offensive.
Louis Duffy, the council’s director of environmental services, presented a comprehensive report to Bord Pleanála senior inspector Paul Caprani outlininglandfill capacity in the province.
The report claimed that landfills in Munster had an annual capacity of 670,500 tonnes, which Mr Duffy said was more than adequate to handle the estimated amount of non-recyclable waste generated in the region.
He said the region’s remaining capacity overall was 2,835,500 tonnes, and that figure didn’t include Cork County Council’s Bottlehill landfill, which is currently being developed.
Mr Duffy denied Greenstar claims that Bottlehill wouldn’t open until 2012. He said operations would get underway there in 2009 and because of this there was no need for another landfill in the county.
The senior council official added that the pay-by-weight system used by the local authority had increased recycling and also significantly reduced the amount of waste which would have to be buried.
Bob Gunkel, a former senior county council planner, also said that Greenstar’s claims were over the top.
He claimed the company had failed to demonstrate that additional landfills were required.
He also felt it inappropriate that waste from other counties in Munster would be imported to the landfill by Greenstar.
The council’s heritage officer Sharon Casey said the area was important for breeding hen harriers — protected by the EU — and the landfill would deprive the raptors of a foraging area.
She said if Greenstar was granted permission, the company should identify another area, of approximately 30 hectares, which would be set aside and managed for the birds of prey.
Jack O’Sullivan, head of independent environmental consultants EMS, then outlined objections to the project on behalf of the Kildorrery Anti-Dump Group.
He said the site Greenstar was proposing to utilise was nearly exactly the same as one used by Cork County Council for a 1990s landfill.
That was closed following a High Court case taken by locals in 2001 and Mr O’Sullivan argued that the decision of the court meant it could never be used again as a landfill.
He said the site was totally unsuitable as it was on the side of a mountain, in an area noted for its high rainfall and near a river.
“I’m concerned therefore about the risk of water contamination. There is no guarantee there won’t be any accidents,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
He added that there was potential to damage salmon and trout spawning grounds on the nearby River Farrahy and the possibility that the dump could leak unacceptable amounts of iron and aluminium into the water supply.
Mr O’Sullivan said Greenstar’s predictions that residual waste would increase in the region went against government policy, which had shifted away from landfill solutions to reusing and recycling.
Dan Ryan, a road engineering expert, said there would be 64 truck movements in and out of the superdump each day. He said the narrow county roads in the area were totally unsuitable for this increase in heavy traffic.
John Geary, chairman of the Kildorrery Anti-Dump Group, said Greenstar would bring waste in from all over Munster, which was in conflict with waste management plans of the province’s local authorities.
“It will have an adverse impact on the environment. It’s a very scenic place which is remote and attracts a lot of tourists,” Mr Geary said.
“I’m concerned about the landfill because of my previous experience.”
Michael Hennessy, founder of Ballyhoura Bears Walking Society, one of largest trekking clubs in the country, said that this form of tourism had really taken off since the county council landfill was closed six years ago.
“If permission was granted it would destroy all our efforts,” Mr Hennessy said.
Seamus Lillis, who lives very close to the site, said that neither he or his neighbours had ever been consulted on the proposals by Greenstar.
He said that the decline of farming had led to tourist-related businesses springing up in the area, which would be under threat if Greenstar got planning permission.
Another local, Ian Spillane, said Greenstar was simply motivated by profit. He added that the superdump would damage beautiful views and if it went ahead he wouldn’t drink the tap water again.
The Bord Pleanála oral hearing will continue today.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
