North-West
An application by a private developer to build a commercial incinerator at Drumfad, Co Sligo, near the foot of Benbulben, was withdrawn in the face of strong local opposition. An environmental group grew out of the campaign at the end of 1998 to guard against any similar developments in the area. Currently Sligo's waste is taken to a landfill in Co Donegal.
Early last year, Donegal County Council dropped plans to build a "superdump" to serve the north of the county at Corravaddy, four miles from Letterkenny, after a very high-profile campaign by local residents.
A dump was also planned for Shannagh, near Donegal town, in the council's 1993 waste management plan and was intended to serve the south of the county. This too was put on hold after a majority of councillors came out against Corravaddy, and in the face of local opposition. The council is now drawing up a new waste management plan, expected in April.
Theresa Judge
West
Galway Corporation and County Council have still to decide on a thermal treatment plant for one of four sites earmarked on the east side of Galway city by M.C. O'Sullivan Consultants.
The plant, if constructed, would take about one-third of Connacht's waste, according to the local authorities, while two residual landfill sites in Galway and north Connacht would be required to cope with small amounts of waste not suitable for incineration or recycling. Up to 47 per cent of waste will be recycled, and the consultants aim to reduce landfill dependence from 90 per cent to 20 per cent if a thermal treatment plant is built.
However, the group Galway for a Safe Environment has been campaigning against a thermal treatment plant. The group's claim that up to 40,000 tonnes of toxic ash could be produced has been discounted by the consultants.
Meanwhile, residents of Ballinasloe reached an out-of-court settlement late last year with the county council in relation to the continued use of Poolboy landfill dump, currently taking most of Galway's waste and set to do so until December, 2005.
Lorna Siggins
Midwest
A proposal to convert a disused mine into a landfill superdump at Silvermines, north Tipperary, is meeting strong local resistance. Waste Management Ireland, a subsidiary of the world's biggest waste disposal company, Waste Management Inc, has proposed to pump 1.6 million cubic metres of water from a former open-cast mine at Garryard and develop it as a landfill, bringing waste in by rail from nine adjoining counties. The separate planning applications to drain the mine and develop it as a landfill have been appealed to An Bord Pleanala.
Meanwhile, north Tipperary, Limerick, Clare and Kerry are being treated as one region for the building of a thermal treatment plant, most likely in or near Limerick city. A draft waste management plan, which aims to achieve recycling rates of 41 per cent and a thermal treatment rate of 45 per cent for the three counties by 2014, is currently on display to the public.
Separately, Clare County Council has applied to the Environmental Protection Agency for a licence to develop a landfill site close to the village of Inagh, about 10 miles west of Ennis. The application includes the building of a recycling centre, a chemical storage shed and a composting area on a 160-acre site. Among the opposition which has made a submission to the EPA is the Inagh Anti-Landfill Group.
Eibhir Mulqueen
South-West
Three sites are being considered for Cork County Council's proposed £20 million "superdump", which is supposed to be up and running by November of next year. The three sites are Watergrasshill, Bottlehill and Grenagh. They are all in the north Cork area and local communities are vehemently opposed to the siting of the new dump in their areas.
The Watergrasshill site is near Fermoy. Mr Barry Curtin, who is part of the antidump campaign, says the village of Watergrasshill has been zoned to accommodate 500 new houses. If the dump is to be located there, people would not want to come and live in Watergrasshill, he says. Bottlehill is not a village but in its hinterand are the villages of Mourneabbey, Carrignavar and Glenville. Residents in the three villages are equally united in their opposition to a dump.
John O'Riordan of the Bottlehill AntiDump Alliance says there is a major aquifer in Bottlehill and not enough research has been done into how a dump might affect the quality of the water table.
In Grenagh, the press officer for the Anti-Dump Action Group, Father Liam Kelleher, says: "Grenagh is a growing area. There are currently 80 houses being built, with more in the pipeline in the village, which is just half-a-mile from the site being considered. Locating the dump here is going to lead to massive depreciation of farms and houses." He adds that there are also concerns about the threat to abundant wildlife in the area.
Despite opposition to all three sites, one of them seems likely to be chosen by the council after an environmental impact statement is completed by August.
Dick Hogan
Midlands
The Midlands, with no city or high-density urban centres, generates less waste than most areas in the State. All refuse is disposed of in landfill sites.
A regional draft waste management plan was presented to the councils three weeks ago and it was quite well received. The period of public consultation will conclude on April 10th.
The draft plan envisages the closure of five landfill sites in the area: Kyletalesha, Co Laois; Derryclune, Co Offaly; Ballydonagh and Marlinstown in Westmeath, and Ballaghverry in North Tipperary. It envisages a system of recycling 46 per cent of waste in 15 years' time, with 37 per cent being thermally treated and only 17 per cent being sent to landfill.
While locals broadly welcome the plan, it was clear from the attitude of their elected representatives that none of the counties wants an incinerator located in its area. In the past week, however, it has been suggested that the peat power stations in Ferbane and Rhode, which are under threat of closure, might be converted to burn the region's waste.
Sean MacConnell
South-East
A campaign is taking place in the southeast to persuade local authorities to withdraw their support for a waste management strategy that includes incineration.
The plan, drawn up by consultants for the South East Regional Authority, recommended that an incinerator be built in south Kilkenny, east Waterford or west Wexford, a combined area known as the SKEWWW box. No specific site has been identified, although one commercial concern, a French-led consortium including Iarnrod Eireann and an ESB subsidiary, ESB International, expressed an interest in siting it at the Great Island power station near Campile, Co Wexford.
Wexford County Council, however, recently voted to reject the strategy and anti-incineration groups are calling on the other local authorities in the region to reverse earlier decisions to back the plan.
Meanwhile, plans for a new landfill in west Waterford to cater for the needs of both city and county are expected to meet strong local opposition. Three potential sites were identified last month and are to be further examined by consultant engineers over the coming months. The three sites under consideration are at Reamanagh, about five miles from Dungarvan; Lickeybeg, near Ardmore; and Shanapollagh-Corrandroumaun in the Lismore area.
Chris Dooley