A second public meeting in a new campaign against the building of a waste incinerator in Roscommon was held last night. Following the successful campaign against the Kilcock incinerator, and votes against incinerators by local authorities in Wexford, Laois and Galway, this marks a further stage in the growing opposition to this form of waste disposal.
The Roscommon Environmental Alliance came into existence following a meeting organised by Mr Noel Hoare in Roscommon town two weeks ago. The meeting was also addressed by Dr Conchur O Bradaigh of NUI Galway, a veteran of the Galway Safe Waste Alliance. Both Galway Corporation and Galway County Council have voted against the Connacht Waste Management Strategy, which includes a proposal to burn 44 per cent of waste.
Mr Hoare is concerned that, following the rejection of the proposal by Galway, Roscommon is the most obvious choice for the siting of an incinerator. "Roscommon is in the middle of Connacht," he said. "This incinerator will be built by a private company. Once it is set up, will it take waste from the midlands as well? I don't want this heritage for my children." He is concerned about the impact of the production of emissions on the environment.
Dr O Bradaigh told the initial meeting that waste incineration produces large amounts of lead, cadmium, mercury, hydrochloric acid, dust and dioxins.
He quoted the US Environmental Protection Agency Draft report for 2000 which said incineration was the main source of dioxins. He also said an EU study showed that, as well as causing cancer, dioxins damage the liver and the immune system, and cause problems with foetal development and the reproductive systems.
Dr O Bradaigh disputed the £46 million figure allowed for the building of the incinerator in the Connacht Waste Management Strategy, stating that a proper incinerator would cost between £100 million and £150 million. The local authorities would have to guarantee to supply a certain type of waste for 20 to 30 years to make it economically viable for the private company investing in the plant. This meant that the emphasis would be on producing waste for incineration rather than recycling.
Mr Hoare said the Government should commit itself wholeheartedly to recycling, which it had failed to do to date.
"Recycling works," he said. "Seventeen years ago I lived in Germany and I was involved in recycling. I know it works. I used to bring paper and cardboard to a small little factory outside Frankfurt, where I was working.
"The facilities here for recycling are nearly non-existent. The bottle banks behind supermarkets are overflowing because the bottles are not collected often enough. All it requires is a bit of effort. The Government would be wise to spend money on recycling. Our children will be very happy if we do."
He stressed that he has no party political affiliation or motivation in his campaign. He has three children and, until six weeks ago, his life consisted of going off to work in the mornings and getting home in time to play with his children before they went to bed. Now his life is a flurry of activity, organising public meetings, talking to public representatives and to the media.
"We have information meetings in various towns in the county. This week it's Castlerea, and we have meetings planned over the next few weeks in the Four Provinces pub, between Tulsk and Boyle, and in the Abbey Hotel in Roscommon, all before the county council votes on September 18th."
He is optimistic that the councillors will vote against the plan. "At first they were in favour of it. But at our first public meeting a number of the councillors who came along said this was the first time they had heard the other side of the argument."