Landfill expansion plans meet with outright opposition

Meath County councillors pledged this week to give their full backing to its officials who will present the council's objections to the proposed expansion of the landfill waste facility at Knockharley, near Kentstown, and the burning of methane on the site to create electricity when the issue comes before An Bórd Pleanála. At least 12 councillors voiced strong objections to the plan when it came before Monday's county council meeting. They were discussing the county manager's report on the Greenstar company's application. The application for the extension of the landfill, the deepening of the landfill by two metres, the building of a new waste treatment structure, and the acceptance of bigger tonnages at the site is being made under the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006. The council heard that targets for the recycling of waste would be damaged if Greenstar's application was successful. The proposal for an extension of the landfill - increasing in the footprint of the facility, together with an increase in the rate of waste acceptance from 132,000 tonnes per annum to 200,000 tonnes - would make it more difficult to reach a target for recycling of 43 per cent of all waste, one councillor said. Cllr Jimmy Fegan said councillors had been told on a number of occasions that hierarchical options left landfill as "the least favoured option" in handling waste. Tha plans by Greenstar Ltd to increase the capacity of the site and construct a biodegradable waste treatment facility, which would generate electricity by burning methane, met with outright opposition from councillors who urged officials to present a strong case against the development when it comes to a public oral hearing. Senior executive planner Fiona Redmond told councillors that An Bord Pleanala had received a Strategic Infrastructure application from Greenstar Holdings Ltd, and the county council was submitting a report to the board setting out its view on the effects of the proposed development on the environment and proper planning and sustainable development of the area. The proposal envisages an increase in the rate of waste acceptance at the existing landfill from 132,000 tonnes this year to 200,000 tonnes per annum from 2012 to 2015, and 132,000 tonnes per annum thereafter. The company also wants to deepen the landfill by two metres, increase the size of the footprint of the landfill by approximately 39 metres to the east and 22m to the west, and increase the capacity of the landfill. She said the company also wanted to provide new waste treatment facilities, including construction of a soil treatment building, and the biological treatment of 90,000 tonnes per annum of biodegradable municipal waste using anaerobic digestion. Ms Redmond said the North-East Waste Management Plan had a 43 per cent target for recycling. The increase in capacity at Knockharley would make the achiement of this target more difficult. The proposed increase in waste acceptance was a significant departure from policy and was contrary to the waste management plan and Meath County Council's Development Plan, she said. "The proposed intensification at Knockharley is in contrast to the EPA policies, EU and national policy to lessen the reliance on landfilling and that, only if waste cannot be prevented, reused or recovered, should it be disposed of into the environment by landfilling, and this should only be undertaken in a controlled manner. Additional data is required to justify the proposed biological treatment facility to demonstrate that the facility will serve primarily the needs of the north-east region," added Ms Redmond. Cllr Brian Fitzgerald said the North-East Waste Management committee had made it very clear that it was against Greenstar's expansion proposals. It was also very clear, he said, that when the council made decisions on the granting of approval for Knockharley some time back, it was for "specific tonnages, and for a specific period". He also wanted to know if Knockharley would be taking in asbestos, and if it would also be accepting ash from the Indaver incinerator at Carranstown, Duleek. "There are issues that are giving concern to people - the ash, the asbestos - besides the increase in tonnage, and the deepening of the landfill. We have to give full support to the officials here to make sure it does not happen," he said. He described the overall situation as "worrying". Cllr Eoin Holmes said the company had admitted that the smell associated with the landfill site would remain. "Are they going to change the wind or cancel it?" he asked. Cllr Bill Carey said that his parish was affected by the smell of gas coming from a landfill in Kildare. He said that when he complained to the EPA about it, he was told "it's nothing to do with us", and when he complained to Kildare County Council, he was told: "It has nothing to do with us, go back to the developer." He said: "I don't trust the EPA to police these things arising out of my experience in my parish and the surrounding area. I just don't trust them anymore." Cllr Suzanne Jamal said the situation was "extremely frustrating" for the residents in Kentstown. She said she had huge concerns about Greenstar's proposal. Cllr John Farrelly said that the waste management plan for the region had given approval for the acceptance of 132,000 tonnes of waste at Knockharley. However, since then, the Carranstown incincerator was coming on-stream, and there were plans for an incinerator in Dublin. "Where is the waste going to come from to fill this facility at Knockharley and the one at Carranstown?" He said Greenstar should not be allowed the increase in tonnages it was looking for. Cllr Eugene Cassidy said it was a case of a company getting its foot in the door and then going for the type of increase in tonnages which it had proposed. "Are we going to have a dumping ground in Meath?" he asked. "We should absolutely oppose this." Cllr Wayne Harding said the people of the Knockharley and Kentstown areas had taken "more than enough" in relation to this particular landfill.