An Taisce gives guarded welcome to landfill refusal

The environmental body An Taisce has expressed concern that the Environmental Protection Agency may allow some illegally dumped waste to remain on Roadstone lands near Blessington in Co Wicklow.

The EPA confirmed today that it had refused to give Roadstone permission to construct a new landfill to dispose of the waste.

It also said it would be appointing an expert to ensure the quarrying company removes all "potentially polluting" waste from its lands for safe disposal elsewhere.

An Taisce has welcomed the move, but chairman Frank Corcoran has also expressed concern about the interpretation of the words "potentially polluting".

"We would be worried that the EPA would say the potentially polluting waste here in Blessington is only a small fraction of all the waste dumped here, so we'll leave the rest of the waste here and we'll take away what we believe is potentially polluting," he said.

"If they go down that road, we will certainly challenge them at the European level."