Sir, - I would like to commend and agree with the sentiments expressed in your editorial (May 24th) on the subject of the Kill landfill site.
As an environmental scientist, I am disappointed that there is no separate collection of newspapers and cardboard in Galway city, nor can I find a collection point at which to leave such items for recycling. Some 30 per cent by weight of municipal solid waste consists of the paper/cardboard fraction, and much of this can be recycled, avoiding the needless filling of precious landfill space by items for which markets can easily be found if only the will existed to do so.
As you are probably aware, there exists a widely accepted hierarchy of waste disposal options, i.e., reduction, re use, recovery and, ultimately, disposal. Throughout Ireland, it would seem that scant attention is paid to this hierarchy. On the whole, disposal to landfill is regarded as the only option and few initiatives exist to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.
Surely it cannot be so difficult to set in train some procedure by which a separate weekly collection for, say, paper and cardboard is made, or alternatively, receptacles are provided in locations across the country for their collection. I would argue that only by encouraging responsibility on the part of householders and businesses, through providing such additional services, will a more sustainable attitude to waste management be adopted.
Recently, I was astonished to find that I was not permitted to walk out the door of a local shopping centre with my few groceries without a plastic bag. I did not want the hag, as there are about 30 of them in a cupboard at home and they invariably end up in the bin. Something is clearly wrong with the attitude of business to the problems of waste disposal when one of the country's biggest stores insists on us using these bags, which will eventually end up in landfill, or blowing in the wind on beaches all around our coastline.
Reducing the amount of waste going to landfill by actively pursuing a more sustainable waste management policy is not an optional extra - nor should support for such a policy be worn as a badge displaying green credentials. There is a responsibility on legislators, businesses and householders alike to ensure that landfill becomes the disposal option of last resort.
In the meantime, markets can be pursued for recycled goods and revenue can be raised both by the sale of such goods, and yes, by strictly enforcing the principle that the polluter pays. Landfill may remain the cheapest short term option, but I suggest that to the people of Kill today, such a concern rings hollow. - Yours, etc.,
BSc (Hons),
Tudor Lawn,
Newcastle,
Galway.