Group asks TDs to reject Coalition waste Bill

A coalition of local community groups calling itself "Zero-Waste Ireland" has called on TDs to oppose the Government's waste management Bill.

The group says the Bill, if enacted, will "strip elected councillors of their waste planning powers and give these powers to unelected county and city managers."

"This means that communities will have no means to influence developments that will seriously impact on their environments," it says.

But the Department of Environment claims its attempt to introduce adequate waste management plans has been at all times frustrated by a number of local authorities.

It says the State's waste recycling rate is among the worst in the EU and the situation is no longer sustainable.

Under the Waste Management (Amendment) Bill 2001 the power to adopt a waste management plan will become an executive function of the local authority manager.

Although elected members will still have the power to vary or replace a plan they will not be able to alter a manager's decision for up to four years.

Zero-Waste Ireland is opposed to the Government's waste plans, which it says "are based extensively on the unsustainable waste management practices" such as incineration and the use of regional super-dumps.