Madam, - I agree with the report in your edition of October 9th that landfill space is increasing - and as we all know, increased supply of a commodity with a steady demand leads to lower prices. This is good news for us all, as lower landfill prices will lead to lower waste charges to the consumer. This process has already commenced.
The figures quoted by the Confederation of European Waste to Energy Plants misrepresent the actual void space available as they include landfills that are due to close as well as their replacements and they include facilities that were licensed, but were refused planning permission. However, I agree with CEWEP's conclusion: that cheap landfill may compromise recycling and recovery.
There are two ways that the Government can keep landfill prices high. One option is to appoint a regulator who will fix the price at a level against which incineration and recycling can compete. This would help to keep us in line with our EU landfill diversion targets, but the real winners would still be the landfill owners, who would continue to make excessive profits, and the real losers would be householders, industry and commerce.
The second option open to the Government is to use the landfill levy effectively as an economic instrument rather than a means to finance local Government, as is currently the case. The levy, now at €15 per tonne, should be increased when necessary to keep the cost of landfill above €100 per tonne. The fund generated from the levy should then be used to subsidise recycled and composted material.
In this scenario, the consumer pays more for waste that he disposes, but he gets more value from the waste he recycles. In overall terms, this will lead to lower waste charges for everyone and lower profits for the landfill operators.
Minister for the Environment Dick Roche has already signalled his intention to introduce a regulator to the waste industry. Beware of a wolf in sheep's clothing. - Yours, etc,
CONOR WALSH, Environmental Director, Thorntons Recycling, Parkwest Business Park, Dublin 12.