LOUTH COUNTY Council has reassured residents it will only be accepting “non-hazardous” waste from an incinerator, due to begin operating in the coming weeks, into its landfill at Whiteriver.
The waste-to-energy facility by Indaver Ireland is the first municipal waste incinerator in Ireland and is licensed to treat a maximum of 200,000 tonnes annually.
The plant has begun to accept waste on a small scale but will not be burning waste until later this month. A spokesperson for the company said it would need to landfill about 10,000 tonnes of bottom ash, which is left after the burning process, this year and has reached an agreement with Louth County Council to take the ash.
The council stressed that any waste from the plant – which is at Carranstown, Co Meath, some 25km away – will only be accepted “with the approval of the Environmental Protection Agency, who will conduct rigorous testing and monitoring to ensure the material is suitable for transfer”.
Des Foley, director of services with the council, said: “It’s important that we reassure the community who live near the Whiteriver site that we will only accept material once we are fully satisfied that it is suitable for transfer and landfill disposal.”