Opponents of the proposed landfill site for Co Meath have called an Environmental Impact Assessment on the site "a whitewash". The chairman of the Boyne Valley and Newgrange Environmental Protection League, Mr Fergal O'Byrne, said the report "failed completely to address the real concerns of people living in east Meath".
Fifty acres out of a total 250 acres will be used for the landfill planned for a site near Kentstown, east Meath. Meath County Council retained consultants MC O Sullivan, which identified it as the most suitable site.
The existing landfill at Basketstown, which takes 42,000 tonnes of waste a year, is nearing capacity.
Last week, the consultants presented the findings of their EIA to councillors who then decided to proceed to the next stage of the project.
The council will now apply to the Environmental Protection Agency for a licence to operate the landfill. A spokesman for Meath County Council said this would take about two months to prepare.
The EPA will then accept submissions regarding the application from any person or group before deciding whether to grant the licence.
Residents opposed to the selection of Kentstown and the continued use of landfill as a means of dealing with waste formed the Boyne Valley and Newgrange Environmental Protection League to co-ordinate their campaign.
Mr O'Bryne said the group had petitioned the High Court claiming that Meath County Council is simply selecting a dump and should instead have a plan and methodology to deal with waste.
"We have also petitioned the European Commission. It is taking Ireland to the European Court of Justice and has adopted our case. The EC also says Ireland has failed to put in place waste management plans throughout the local authority areas."
He also warned that if Meath County Council tried to begin construction on the site before the High Court action was resolved, the group would seek an injunction restraining the work.
A spokesman for the council said consultants MC O Sullivan also presented councillors with a report on "Thermal Options for Waste Treatment/Recovery".
It recommended that Cavan, Louth, Monaghan and Meath county councils consider a regional incinerator. "This is our next step in waste management and we are examining whether it is an option for us on a regional basis."