Cork €50m superdump never used in 16 years 'should be sold off'

Bottlehill landfill 23km north of Cork City was meant to take in up to 217,000 tonnes of waste per year since 2009 

Cork county councillors claim the superdump-that-never-was at Bottlehill is a financial millstone around the local authority’s neck. File picture: Eddie O'Hare

A €50m ‘white elephant’ superdump in Co Cork that has never accepted one bag of refuse in the past 16 years should be sold off.

That is according to Cork county councillors, who claimed the superdump-that-never-was at Bottlehill is a massive financial millstone around the local authority’s neck.

The superdump, 23km north of Cork City, was initially supposed to open for waste in 2009, but this was stalled for two years.

In 2011, councillors were told it would not be economically viable to open it.

It was supposed to be one of the biggest landfills in the country, capable of taking 217,000 tonnes of waste per year over a 20-year period.

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It has now been revealed that it is costing the local authority an additional €1.9m in loan repayments annually, and a further €40,000 for security at the site.

150,000 tonne annual minimum 

It was said 14 years ago that there was severe competition from landfills in other counties, and to make Bottlehill financially viable, it would have to take in a minimum of 150,000 tonnes of waste per year.

At the time, Cork County Council said it would have to charge a minimum entry fee per vehicle of €50, whereas other landfills were charging an average of €20-€30 per visit.

The facility took five years to construct, but during that time, the government set out new criteria to divert waste away from landfills, primarily through recycling and incineration.

Indaver proposal did not materialise

In 2016, it was suggested that 40,000 tonnes of residual ash from Indaver’s proposed incinerator in Ringaskiddy could be buried there, which would provide the council with some income.

This did not materialise, but Indaver has recently reapplied for planning permission for a Ringaskiddy incinerator.

The same year, the council’s environment directorate also wanted to earmark a proportion of the site for a company specialising in wind and solar energy. However, that also failed to materialise.

Michael Hegarty, the Fine Gael leader on the council, has demanded that council management sell off the site.

“It’s a white elephant, and we should dispose of it immediately. We need to cut our losses and get out,” he said.

Labour councillors Cathal Rasmussen and Ronan Sheehan supported his call, as did the leader of Independent Ireland on the council, Danny Collins.

Council chief executive Moira Murrell said her officials are “developing some proposals for it, but they have to go through a process".