Indaver: Report will not damage incinerator’s viability

INDAVER Ireland doesn’t believe its planned €140 million incinerator in Cork Harbour is under threat following a report commissioned by the Minister of the Environment that recommended capping the amount of waste that can be incinerated in this country.

Green Party chairman Dan Boyle has said it “undermines the viability of the planned Cork incinerator, as it significantly decreases the amount of waste going to landfill or incineration” by ensuring segregation of waste and maximum recycling of all materials.

The report, drawn up by Eunomia Consultants, also calls for levies on incinerators and financial incentives to develop mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facilities so that biodegradable rubbish can be treated and other types of recyclable metals removed, thereby limiting the amount of waste available for incineration or landfill.

The Eunomia report, which will be published this month, says that no more than 25% of biodegradable municipal waste should be placed in incinerators. The report emphasises that no waste should go to incineration or landfill that could be recycled or further treated and suggests that waste policy should not be dealt with on a regional basis but that each local authority be responsible for their own waste disposal. Capital allowances should also be made available so the private sector will invest in MBT technology, it said.

Friends of the Earth say that out of every tonne put through a MBT process, 0.6 tonnes will be left as residue. There are approximately 70 MBT plants in Europe, with Germany the European leader in the sector.

A spokesman for Indaver Ireland last night denied that the report would damage the viability of their planned 240,000 tonne waste to energy plant.

“A cap on incineration of 25-30% of total waste arisings would be appropriate. Consider the figures: if you take our proposal for Cork, our project under construction in Meath and the planned facility for Dublin, then combined these facilities equate to less than 30% of total waste produced in the country. This is something we detailed at the recent oral hearing,” he said.

“Even taking the proposed Ringaskiddy facility in isolation, a cap of this nature would be compatible with EPA waste projections for the region. Advice of this nature in effect adds further weight to the need for waste-to-energy in the Cork region.”

Planning permission has been granted for two incinerators in Co Meath and at Poolbeg in Dublin, and An Bord Pleanála is due to deliver a decision at the end of October into the proposed hazardous and municipal waste incinerator at Ringaskiddy.