Huge state bill for ‘smuggled’ rubbish

THE Government is going to have to pay the lion’s share of a €200 million bill to repatriate almost 800,000 tonnes of waste originating from the south, but dumped in the north.

The illegally deposited material, a mixture of commercial and domestic waste, has been discovered in 78 sites, mainly in the border areas but to an extent in every county.

The average size of the dumps is 10,000 tonnes and it is estimated it will cost between €200 — €250 a tonne to remove.

According to the north’s Environment and Heritage Service: “Officials from both jurisdictions have been discussing repatriation of illegal waste for some time.

“After a long period of negotiation agreement has been reached that the Republic will repatriate waste from two illegal sites — Slattinagh, Co Fermanagh and Trillick, Co Tyrone.

“The mechanics of these operations, and the associated cost liabilities, have yet to be agreed.”

The high price of waste disposal in the Republic is being cited as the main reason rubbish is being smuggled into the north from here. Waste from as far away as Cork has made it across the border.

To date, there have been three cases where farmers in the north have been jailed for allowing their lands to be used as dumping sites.

In the most recent case in January, a farmer was jailed for four months for allowing 1,900 tonnes of municipal rubbish, including surgical gloves, incontinence pads and metal to be deposited on his land. Upon analysis it was found that the waste had come from Dublin, Wexford and Cork.

The Environment and Heritage Service calculated that if the waste had been dumped legally in the Republic it would have cost €420,000 whereas if it had been dumped legally in the north it would have cost £88,000 (€117,792).

The farmer responsible, Philip Johnston from Killadeas, Enniskillen, was given a £10,000 (€12,800) fine, as well as the prison term, after the judge in the case said the defendant had made a deal with a person from the Republic for “a substantial payment”.

The service said there were another three cases pending from 2007. It intends to work with our Environmental Protection Agency to try to trace the identity of the dumpers responsible for all 78 dumps. There has already been co-operation between the Northern authorities and local authorities in the south to take responsibility for the cost of the waste while culprits are sought.

Last night the Environmental Protection Agency issued a statement in which it said: “The EPA has been informed of 20 Northern sites that are suspected of containing illegally deposited waste from the Republic of Ireland. This waste would appear to be historical.”