State faces exporting waste as dumps close

A MOUNTING waste management crisis could force large-scale exporting of waste, as six local authorities have closed their main dumps and 22 more face closure within five years.

Kildare, Leitrim, Longford, Meath, Sligo and Wicklow county councils are already using the landfill facilities of other local authorities.

In Cork, the situation is particularly serious, with the main municipal dump at Kinsale Road due to close on January 1, 2005, and a replacement dump at Bottlehill still awaiting licensing from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Contractors are being sought by the city council to dispose of waste for 18 months as an interim strategy when Kinsale Road closes.

If contractors opt to export and the cost is higher than the current charges, householders will have to foot the bill through increased payments. An annual figure of 10 million has been mentioned.

In Galway, the main landfill at Ballinasloe which is also used by Longford County Council will close at the end of 2005, by High Court order. A spokesperson for Galway County Council said without a landfill, they would either have to reach agreement with neighbouring local authorities to use their facilities or else consider using private contractors to export waste.

In the greater Dublin region, the Arthurstown landfill in Kill, Co Kildare, which accepts waste from five local authorities, only has permission to continue operating up to July 28, 2004.

Permission has been sought to extend its life to December 21, 2007, when it will have reached capacity.

A spokesperson for Dun-Laoghaire Rathdown County Council said the hunt for new landfill sites in the Dublin area was slowed by objections from landowners.

A process is underway to build an incinerator for the region in Poolbeg by 2007.

"But there is potential for slippage of this date if difficulties arise particularly in the planning and waste-licensing process," the spokesperson said.

Local authorities say the absence of incinerators for municipal waste is exacerbating the landfill crisis. Planning permission has been granted to just one private company, Indaver, for an incinerator in Co Meath, but this is under High Court appeal.

A statement from Environment Minister Martin Cullen said he was well aware that waste management was at crisis point, as highlighted by the EPA's recent National Waste Database Report 2001. The report found the number of operating local authority landfills decreased from 76 in 1998 to 50 in 2001, while the number of private sector landfills decreased from 50 to 42.

It also noted that six of the 10 waste management planning regions had less than three years of remaining landfill capacity.

Minister Cullen said: "It is incumbent that local authorities deal with the waste management issue at a local level."

He also said he would be outlining new waste management plans in the autumn.

However, Green Party TD Dan Boyle accused Minister Cullen of a 'schizophrenic' approach to waste management.

"He claims he is tackling the waste crisis, yet his main solution is incineration, which contributes to greenhouse gases and further damages the environment."