A planning application for a second "super dump" in Co Cork which would also handle waste from adjoining counties has been lodged with Cork County Council.
The application has raised concerns in the Ballyguyroe area, near Kildorrery, in north Cork, where an existing council landfill facility is due to close in September.
It follows an agreement in the High Court in 1997 between residents and the council that the Ballyguyroe dump would close as soon as it was full.
However, Celtic Waste, a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Toll Roads Plc, a private waste management operator, has applied to the council to open a 70-acre landfill site adjacent to the existing facility. Residents believe this would mean the council commitment had been "set at nought" if the planning application was successful.
The entire waste from Cork city and county is to be handled at Battlehill, about 20 miles from where Celtic Waste wants to open a second facility under joint proposals developed by the council and Cork Corporation. The council is to operate the Battlehill dump and the city is to segregate the waste before it goes to landfill.
The waste segregation is an integral part of the joint waste strategy but so far councillors cannot agree on where to site a materials recovery facility.
News that an independent waste management operator has now entered the field with a proposal for a second super dump has been greeted with dismay in the area.
Mr John Geary, one of the campaigners against the original Ballyguyroe dump, said last night residents had expected that once the dump was closed next September, that would be the end of it. "Celtic Waste will be most unwelcome here," he said.
Mr John Curtain, managing director of Celtic Waste, confirmed last night the company had applied for planning permission to operate a landfill capable of handling 145,000 tons annually.
It is understood that when Celtic Waste signalled its intention to the council three months ago, the company was made aware of the existing waste management plan for Cork county and of the Battlehill proposal.
Further, sources told The Irish Times Celtic Waste was also made aware that a variation to the development plan would be necessary if a second landfill site was to go ahead.
In the present climate, given strong opposition to the Battlehill proposal, it is unlikely councillors will be willing to vary the plan to facilitate a commercial operation.
Last night, Mr Maurice Moloney, Cork county manager, said the Battlehill proposal represented the waste management plan adopted by the council and the Celtic Waste proposal was a separate issue. The application would be treated on its merits, he added.