Statement from Claire Wheeler, local area representative for the Green Party for Dublin South East Inner City, incorporating Ringsend, Irishtown and north Sandymount.
‘Waste-to-Energy’ Mass Burn Incinerator Information Day, 17th Jan. 2009
The Green Party, including John Gormley and myself, have consistently fought against incineration over the last 20 years. We oppose this ‘Waste-to-Energy’ mass-burn incinerator, which is in an extremely inappropriate location and grossly oversized for Ireland. We have always pushed for better recycling facilities, such as the recently-announced collection of all plastic waste in green bins in Dublin. We favour MBT (Mechanical-Biological Treatment) for pre-treatment of residual waste. Research instigated by Minister Gormley showed that, with a well-developed MBT system, only of the order of 400,000 tons of residual waste would remain for disposal. Therefore we consider this facility an affront which will limit Ireland’s potential to recycle and to recover useful resources. It will be an unnecessary and extremely costly burden on the people of Dublin. We have grave concerns over the likely damage to public health from the facility, particularly from ultra-fine particulate matter. The technology exists to trace these, which could leave Dublin City Council open to litigation.
Along with the other 3 Green Party Dublin City councillors, Tony Gregory and Christy Burke, I voted against the Waste Strategy and Waste Management Plan for Dublin in 1998. All the other councillors present voted in favour. I have a good technical background, and it was patently obvious from reading the Waste Management Plan that the only option for final disposal contained was incineration. We warned the other councillors that they were voting for incineration but they did so anyway.
When I was on the Ringsend Special Interest Group in relation to pre-statutory consultation for the Waste-to Energy project, I received a copy of the independent legal opinion from Lavelle Coleman Solicitors, which concluded that the Waste Management Plan passed by the councillors legally obliged the City Manager to procure an incinerator. This is the only legal basis for the incinerator. The planning and license applications for the incinerator were lodged in 2006, preventing Minister Gormley from intervening in the process when he took office in June 2007. Agreements with Covanta were also put in place, which can only be revoked by Dublin City Council.
The Green Party continues to oppose this incinerator. We feel that it is up to Dublin City Council to re-negotiate this disastrous contract and we continue to push in the direction of Zero Waste, with better recycling and materials recovery, to starve this monstrous white elephant of feedstock. John Gormley is taking a number of initiatives which will undermine the financial basis for the incinerator, including the imposition of an incineration levy. I support the Combined Residents Against Incineration and others in pursuing any legal means to stop the incinerator.