The employers' group, IBEC, has called for immediate steps to modernise and upgrade waste-management infrastructure and for clear, objective leadership.
In a statement yesterday IBEC said it was convinced that with the technology now available, incineration was a safe and effective option for treating waste.
The group also reiterated its call for a central national waste authority to bring coherence to a national strategy.
"Ireland is grinding to a halt because of nimbyism," it said. It had become virtually impossible to site any type of waste-management facility, from bottle bank to transfer stations, landfill or thermal treatment plant. Many landfill sites faced closure without an alternative having been proposed.
"We are now facing a situation in some parts of the country where IBEC member-companies will have no outlet for waste," the statement said.
"The current situation in Galway, with business denied any access to waste-disposal facilities in the region from February 1st, is an example."
Advocating incineration as a safe and effective option, IBEC said: "Thermal treatment needs to be used in this country as part of a waste-management strategy which includes prevention and recycling."
It was high time sensible and pragmatic decisions were taken in the area of waste management in Ireland, it said.