About 2,500 jobs will be lost if the incinerator at Poolbeg in Dublin is constructed, the Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA) has told an Oireachtas environment committee, writes Olivia Kelly
The association, which claims to represent about 95 per cent of private waste management companies, said the 600,000 tonne capacity incinerator would “wipe out alternatives” to incineration, and cost jobs in the waste industry.
“More than 1,000 jobs will be lost directly and immediately once the tap is turned off to alternatives. We’re probably talking about 2,500 people in direct and indirect jobs being laid off . . . ” IWMA spokesman Brendan Keane said.
The incinerator would “suck up” waste that private operators were recycling now, Mr Keane said.