Incinerating hazardous waste has been on the political agenda for more than a decade, but it was not until yesterday when An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission for the proposed Indaver facility at Ringaskiddy that this disposal option began to take concrete form.
The fact that the appeals board did so against the advice of one of its senior inspectors, who recommended 14 reasons for refusal, illustrates not merely how contentious waste management has become, but also how stated national policy can be used to override objections at local level. That this policy is politically driven is a crucial factor which the appeals board could hardly ignore, especially with proposals being mooted for a national infrastructure board to rubber-stamp every project deemed to be in the public interest.
An Bord Pleanála, with its exemplary commitment to openness and transparency, has elucidated in detail the basis of its decision to approve the Indaver plant, which will have the capacity to treat 100,000 tonnes of hazardous waste a year. With some 60 per cent of the State's pharmachem sector located around Cork Harbour, the 31-acre site in Ringaskiddy was perhaps an obvious choice, in line with the proximity principle. Certainly, the appeals board saw it as "an appropriate location for a necessary public facility", which Indaver has promoted on the basis that it will bring to an end the current practice of exporting hazardous waste to other EU countries.
However, because the case pre-dated implementation of the 2000 Planning Act, the board was precluded from considering environmental risks.
Although its own senior inspector, Mr Philip Jones, thought otherwise, the board did not regard the provision of an incinerator as a reversal of the established waste management hierarchy, which puts thermal treatment close to the bottom - just above landfill - while allocating much higher priority to waste prevention, minimisation, re-use and recycling. And while some progress has been made on recycling, the volume of waste continues to grow by some 2 per cent per annum, reflecting the profligacy of our society. Compared to what is spent on disposal facilities - the Indaver plant at Ringaskiddy is estimated to cost €95 million - little is invested in programmes to minimise waste at source.
An Bord Pleanála took the view that the priorities as between waste minimisation and disposal options set out in the National Hazardous Waste Management Plan, 2001, were intended to be provided in parallel and not in any particular sequence. It also moved to soften the blow to the local community by specifying that €1.27 - a pound, in old money - would be levied per tonne of waste treated to fund the provision of amenities in the area. A similar approach needs to be adopted for other incinerator proposals, such as the major facility proposed for Dublin Bay. It may not assuage public fears, but it would be an appropriate gesture to communities which bear the brunt of disposing of our waste.