Cork County Council refuses to reveal cost of €50m Bottlehill landfill that never opened

Councillors say the mothballed Bottlehill landfill is draining millions from local services while Cork County Council refuses to disclose full costs

The landfill at Bottlehill, 20km north of Cork City and close to the main Cork-Limerick road, was supposed to open in 2009. File Picture: Eddie O'Hare

Cork County Council has repeatedly refused to say how much it has spent to date on the upkeep of a "white elephant" superdump that has cost nearly €50m to develop, and which has never seen one bag of refuse buried at it.

Some county councillors are now demanding that local authority bosses offload the facility and cut its losses. They say the council could use any money it gets for selling it off or leasing it to finance some badly needed services and give some money back to the taxpayer.