Group ‘vindicated’ after planning for hazardous waste treatment overturned

A campaign against a sludge plant on the River Blackwater in east Cork accepting hazardous waste was justified following a Bord Pleanála ruling, a community action group has said.

The board overturned a Cork County Council decision to approve planning for the treatment of hazardous waste at an existing treatment plant operated by Eras Eco in Youghal.

The appeal was launched by Youghal Chamber of Tourism and Commerce following the local authority’s decision in 2011 to allow the plant to upgrade its facilities to accept toxic waste, using a new super critical water oxidation process in a €10m project.