Public 'need more information' on waste management

The head of the research team behind the Health Research Board's (HRB) new report on the effects of landfill and incineration has said the public need to be more informed about issue of waste management.

Dr Dominique Crowley's report shows that evidence exists to show that incineration may be linked to respiratory problems and that some landfills can be linked to birth defects.

However the report links neither landfill nor incineration to cancers. Dr Crowley says that more research is needed to assess the risks posed by the different methods of waste management.

"The purpose of this report wasn't to make any policy recommendations. It was to be a resource for people making decisions and for the general public so that they could be more informed and be maybe included in the debate in relation to choices locally."