Few issues generate as much heat in the country as where the local refuse dump should be located, and the midlands is no exception.
The midland councils, Laois, Offaly, Longford and West Meath with Tipperary North Riding, are currently examining a new waste management strategy for the region.
A firm of consultants, M. C. O'Sullivan and Co. Ltd, with the aid of a Copenhagen-based firm, COWI, devised a strategy to dispose of the waste of the five counties in the most environmentally satisfactory way possible.
These counties, the companies found, generated 390,000 tonnes of waste each year, excluding agricultural waste. Some 80,000 tonnes were generated by householders, while 32,000 were produced by commercial businesses.
In addition, there were about 110,000 tonnes of industry waste, most of which was dealt with by industry, and the construction and demolition industry created 145,000 tonnes each year.
The report recommended that there should be a network of 11 waste recycling centres where the public could bring recyclables such as glass and plastic, textiles, oils, batteries, and other items.
It also recommended that more bottle banks be opened in the area, particularly in rural areas, and recommended dual collection of organic and other waste from homes where two bins would be supplied.
Goods collected would be taken to a materials recovery centre and materials from the bottle banks would be prepared for recycling.
There should be three composting plants set up and a biological treatment plant where organic waste from dual collection would be recycled.
The strategy recommended that two of the existing five landfill sites, Marlinstown, Co. West Meath, and either Kyletalesha in Co. Laois or Derryclure in Co. Offaly, should close as soon as the new recycling facilities were put in place by the end of 2001.
When what the consultants called a thermal treatment for combustible waste was achieved, the remaining three landfill sites in the area could be replaced with just one landfill site for the disposal of the residue.
However, as this is just a strategy and not a plan and the local elections are looming, it could be some time before the Regional Waste Management Plan will be agreed.