Waste plan calls for £67m thermal plant in Limerick

A draft waste management plan for Clare, Limerick and Kerry recommends the siting of a £67 million thermal treatment plant or incinerator in the greater Limerick area.

According to the draft plan presented to members of Clare County Council yesterday, the thermal plant will treat 45.3 per cent of the region's waste by 2014 if the plan meets projected targets.

In the draft plan, drawn up by M.C. O'Sullivan Consulting Engineers, 41.2 per cent of waste will be recycled while the remaining 13.5 per cent will be disposed in the region's landfill sites by that date.

The consultants say the proposed waste management structure put forward is the best environment option and is "most likely to provide a robust, sustainable waste management system for the region in accordance with legal and practical requirements".

The total investment, operational and transport costs of implementing the plan over the next 15 years is estimated at £288 million. The plan, drawn up on behalf of four local authorities - Clare, Kerry and Limerick County Councils and Limerick Corporation - sets out the proposed policy for integrated waste management for the region for the next 25 years.

The consultants say costs will be recovered using the "polluter pays" principle, whereby all waste-producers share the burden of managing waste, and partnerships with private companies will be pursued for the establishment of larger facilities.

The thermal treatment plant will be put in place in the greater Limerick area and will have a capacity of 200,000 to 250,000 tonnes a year. The exact location of the facility will be determined by a separate study and a target date of 2006 has been set for completion of the facility.

The thermal plant may accept 25,000 tonnes annually of residual combustible waste from Tipperary North Riding, according to the consultants, who add that a similar flexibility should be maintained with respect to other counties in the region.

Thermal treatment is a more desirable environmental option than landfill, provided that harmful waste is diverted from the process, the consultants add.

In proposing that 41 per cent of the region's waste be recycled by 2014, the plan states that a network of 12 waste-recycling centres will be put in place and that door-to-door collection of recyclable goods will be introduced in towns with populations greater than 1,500.

According to the plan, the system will be extended to smaller towns in the longer term, where possible. It also proposes the establishment of a central materials recovery facility and a central biological treatment facility in the greater Limerick area.

A group from the four participating local authorities will oversee the progression and implementation of the plan, which is to be put on display to allow the public to make submissions over a two-month period.