Refuse collection from 2,000 households and 100 businesses in west Donegal is threatened from Wednesday next because of the closure of the Muckish landfill site near Falcarragh.
Donegal County Council is closing the site to domestic refuse following an order issued by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The nine waste-collection companies in Co Donegal say it is not feasible to bring refuse to alternative landfill sites.
Mr Tony Sharkey, a spokesman for Donegal Waste Management Organisation (DWMO), which represents the companies, told The Irish Times the cost of transporting waste to the south of the county was prohibitive.
The closure of Muckish follows local objections to the granting of a licence to the council to operate it. The objections were based on concerns about potential pollution of the nearby river system.
An order to close the landfill site in Glenalla near Rathmullen could affect those in the greater Letterkenny area. This decision is being appealed.
Mr Sharkey said the operators would suspend waste collection in this area if the Glenalla site closed.
"The performance of the council has been disastrous," he said. "They are in breach of their own 1993 Waste Management Plan, which envisaged a network of transfer stations at the landfill sites that are closing. The facilities at these stations were to provide sorting, bulking, composting and recycling facilities.
"As none of these transfer stations have been provided for, we the waste collectors have decided not to bring the refuse to the other locations. The county council officials knew back in early January that the Muckish landfill site was to close, yet it was only last week that officials informed us that they proposed to close it last Friday," he added.
Mr Sharkey said the kernel of the problem was that the council regarded landfill charges as a means of collecting revenue. "We the waste contractors have collected £36 million for them since privatisation. These charges have been diverted to balance the books of the entire council budget."
The council has arranged a meeting for Wednesday when it will present proposals to the refuse-collectors on the options available following the closure of the Muckish facility.
In a statement issued to The Irish Times, the council acknowledged the closure would cause difficulties for the council, the refuse-collectors and the public.
"However, to continue to dispose of domestic refuse at this site could lead to the council being prosecuted for a breach of the Waste Management Act, and arrangements are currently being made to close Muckish landfill site in accordance with the EPA's decision," the statement said.
The council would require the co-operation of the refuse-collectors as options were explored for the transfer of waste to the facilities available.