The developers of the proposed Poolbeg incinerator, which is opposed by Minister for the Environment John Gormley, have sought a meeting with Taoiseach Brian Cowen.
Scott Whitney, president of Covanta Europe, told a press conference in Dublin this morning the company had been in touch with Mr Cowen’s office.
“We’ve suggested at some point a meeting with the Taoiseach might be useful,” Mr Whitney said.
Covanta and Dublin City Council are seeking to move ahead with the construction of the €350 million Poolbeg incinerator, which is to be located in Mr Gormley’s South Dublin constituency. The plant will be capable of handling 600,000 tonnes of waste each year.
Mr Gormley last week published a new waste policy that would make large incinerators such as the Poolbeg facility unviable. The policy leans towards recycling and mechanical biological treatment of refuse.
It includes an intention, already sanctioned by Government, to introduce a levy on incineration, but also goes further by proposing punitive fines for local authorities who do not prevent waste from going to landfill or incinerator sites.
Dublin City Council said the Poolbeg contract was entered into in line with Government waste policy and the current Regional Waste Management Plan. “Any proposal which might alter that policy at this stage could have serious repercussions for the Dublin region and thereby the State,” it said.
Mr Gormley rejected as “scaremongering” and “absolute nonsense” subsequent claims that the State would face massive EU fines for landfill waste if the incinerator does not go ahead.
Mr Whitney said one of the key claims made by opponents of the project is that the plant is over-sized for the Dublin region’s residual waste market.
“The truth is that there is, and under all reasonably predictable scenarios will continue to be, plenty of waste left over after recycling to justify the Poolbeg facility at its current size,” he said.
“Everyone agrees that the recovery of energy from waste is environmentally preferable to land-filling and this fact is a central element in the waste hierarchy and at the heart of the EU Landfill Directive . . . it makes no sense to deliberately undersize a facility such as this just so we can ensure that there’s some waste leftover for the landfill companies.”
Mr Whitney said such a development would be bad for the environment and a costly mistake if it led to fines for failing to meet the directive in future years.