Main points of the draft Connacht Waste Management Plan rejected by Galway County Council were:
The construction of a thermal treatment plant on the outskirts of Galway city.
The location of two landfill sites in Connacht, one in east Galway and one in north Connacht on the Mayo-Roscommon border.
Diversion of two-thirds of the region's waste to recycling by 2015.
The landfill for north Connacht would only accept residual waste from the thermal treatment plant and recycling.
The Connacht plan identifies the need for an investment of £300 million up to 2013 across the region.
The draft plan is based on a waste-management strategy which recommended an integrated approach to waste management involving new recycling initiatives, biological and thermal treatment of wastes and landfill of residual waste.