Greenstar battles with council over superdump

STATISTICS, and widely differing ones at that, were thrown around like confetti yesterday as opposing sides at a hearing on a controversial superdump tried to gain the upper hand.

An Bord Pleanála senior inspector Paul Caprani will have the unenviable task in the next few weeks of wading through pages and pages of evidence to see if there is actually a need to develop a €20 million landfill on the Cork/Limerick border.

The battle is essentially between Greenstar — the largest private waste operator in the country — which wants to build the landfill, and Cork County Council and locals who are firmly against it.

Greenstar drew first blood yesterday when its barrister Jarlath Fitzsimons got a senior Cork County Council official to admit the amount of landfill capacity left in dumps in the Munster region might be less than he’d initially reported.

However, Cork County Council’s director of environmental services Louis Duffy claimed there was still enough space to handle any problems and continued to hotly dispute claims by Greenstar there was a 300,000 tonnes per annum shortfall in landfall space in the region.

Greenstar wants to construct the landfill at Ballyguyroe, near Kildorrery, Co Cork which would be capable of handling 1.45 million tonnes of waste over 10 years.

Mr Duffy added it was hoped to have the council’s €50 million landfill at Bottlehill operational by late 2008 meaning there would be no need for the Ballyguyroe site.

Mr Fitzsimons said Greenstar was having to export 40,000 tonnes of waste from Cork and 80,000 in total from Munster to a landfill in Kildare.

Mr Duffy said capacity was available in the Munster region and claimed it was simply a commercial decision by Greenstar to bury the waste elsewhere.

Mr Fitzsimons reiterated Greenstar’s contention that Bottlehill wouldn’t be fully operational until 2012.

The senior council official said it would be “preposterous” to build another large landfill in the region.

Rory Mulcahy BL, on behalf of Cork County Council, asked Greenstar’s head of landfill operations Margaret Heavey why so much waste was being exported from Munster if there was adequate landfill space in the province.

She said private operators were presently not being allowed into landfills at Youghal and Kinsale, but under further cross-examination conceded they had been invited to do so previously.

However, she then admitted costs of disposing of waste at Cork County Council-owned sites had been an issue.

“The price quoted is dearer that other landfills around the country. It would not be economic for us to continue our business in Cork at €150 per tonne (which includes a Government levy of €15),” said Ms Heavey

She argued the council’s statistics on landfill capacity didn’t take into account construction waste, sludges etc, and Greenstar’s figures were based on space left for municipal waste alone.

Greenstar have been refused planning permission twice for the dump.

It is expected An Bord Pleanála will make its decision on November 1.