| A spokesman for Environment Minister
John Gormley said it was “difficult to understand the motive”
of Dublin City Council in commissioning the ESRI report “apart
from as an attempt to undermine the national review of waste
policy”.
Noting a recent High Court judgment that was “highly critical”
of the council’s implementation of waste policy, he said -
“It is the Government that decides on waste policy and it
is not up to local authorities ... to dictate to Government
what national waste policy should be.”
The spokesman noted that the Fianna Fáil-Green Party programme
for government “sets out a clear intention to review waste
policy and, in this context, to place a cap on incineration
capacity”. He said this had been signalled to Dublin city
manager, John Tierney, in June 2007.
“The Minister has received a number of submissions on the
waste review in recent weeks,” he said - adding that the ESRI
report “is one further such input commissioned by
an interest group” and would be considered as such - “even
though it contained a number of errors”.
For example, it assumed that waste generation would “increase
at Celtic Tiger rates ... but that recycling rates will stop
increasing. It also assumes a status quo in terms of
waste policy, charges or consumer and industry practice, which
is clearly not the case in the real world”.
The Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA) described the
report as “fundamentally flawed” - saying it “shows no understanding
of the impact that the growth in recycling in the Dublin region
has had - and will continue to have - on the amount of waste
available for incineration”.
Source - The Irish Times
The battle lines -
- John Gormley says there will not be enough waste generated
to fuel the Poolbeg incinerator - the ESRI says there will.
- Mr Gormley plans to introduce a cap - or limit - on the
amount of waste that can be incinerated - the ESRI says
this means legally-binding targets will be missed and fines
imposed.
- If a cap is put in place, it will encourage a switch to
other forms of treatment - the ESRI says it will delay projects
and add to the cost of building facilities.
- The Environment Minister says that only waste produced
in Dublin should be treated in Poolbeg - there is no reason
for this, says the ESRI.
- The minister says the amount of household waste being
generated is falling because more people are recycling and
composting - the ESRI says waste generated will increase
by 4pc per year from 2011, when the economy returns to growth.
- The Government assumes that up to 70pc of all waste will
be recycled - this is 'extremely unlikely to be successful
or cost-effective' according to the ESRI.
- Mr Gormley wants household waste generation to fall from
300kgs to 150kgs by 2020 - England and Wales have similar
targets, but will not achieve them for 20 years, the ESRI
says.
Source - The Irish Independent
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