Clare County Council has been forced to trawl through local authorities throughout the Republic to find a location to dispose of the estimated 50,000 tonnes of waste produced annually by the county.
The search for a suitable landfill follows the refusal of Kerry and Limerick councils to accept its waste. The impending crisis arises from the closure of its only landfill, possibly as early as next February with no replacement until perhaps 2003.
Much hope was placed by the council on a section agreed by Clare, Kerry and Limerick in the Mid-West's Joint Waste Management Plan adopted last June which stated that waste from Clare may be disposed of at other landfills in the region between the closure of Doora and the opening of Clare's new landfill.
However, the chairman of Kerry County Council, Tom Fleming, yesterday described the provision as "aspiration al". After Kerry County Council voted overwhelmingly to reject's Clare's application, Mr Fleming said Kerry did not have the capacity to accept waste from Clare.
Clare County Manager Willie Moloney has received a similar message from Limerick County Council which says its landfill at Gortnadromma has nearly reached capacity.
Limerick council said its landfill, which has a licence to dispose of 130,000 tonnes a year, will accept 121,000 tonnes by the end of this year, increasing to 126,000 next year, before any waste is diverted from Clare or elsewhere.
An application has also been made to Tipperary North Riding County Council. However, even if it did give the go-ahead, Clare would have to look elsewhere as the capacity at the Ballaghveny landfill is 27,000 tonnes per annum with an anticipated ceiling of 36,000 tonnes per annum.
The Clare County Council chairman, Sean Hillery, yesterday expressed his disappointment at the Limerick and Kerry responses and said it would have no option but to apply to other local authorities. "When other councils will see our dilemma, we would be hopeful of a positive response."
Mr Hillery was speaking after the Environmental Protection Agency refused its application for an oral hearing into its appeal against the agency's decision to close Doora next June. If Doora closes without a replacement, private waste contractor IPODEC has warned the agency that it should be under no illusions that flytipping, not from IPODEC, will occur in the county with no waste facility in place.
Jack O'Sullivan, an environmental consultant who was instrumental in helping local residents secure the High Court order which will close Doora, said yesterday the council had locked itself into a difficult situation.
Saying it was the author of its own misfortune, Mr O'Sullivan said if the council had listened to advice from engineers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, it would have closed the site long ago and had a replacement in place.
"They did not listen to people and at this stage, with the closure looming, it is difficult to know what they are going to do." One option which the council has taken, though it does nothing to identify an alternative landfill, is to propose to withdraw its refuse service from next March due to the cost of transferring waste. Calling for increased reduction and recycling, Green Party member and Ennis urban councillor Donal O'Bearra has accused the council of washing its hands of the problem, a charge strongly rejected by Mr Hillery.
Though Mr Hillery accepted that the council was the author of its own misfortune in relation to Doora, he said it was living up to its responsibilities under the 1996 Waste Management Act which charges the council with collecting or arranging for the collection of household waste within its functional area.
"The proper disposal of the county's waste will continue, we will ensure that. At the moment, our aim to transfer the waste elsewhere for a temporary period before having in place a state-of-the-art landfill."