Irish Independent - 17-02-06
Fury at bid to hike incinerator's quota
by Anne-Marie Walsh

RESIDENTS have reacted angrily to news that the owners of the country's first mega-incinerator want to burn a third more waste than originally planned.

Although the waste disposal plant has not even been built, Indaver Ireland yesterday lodged a planning application with Meath Co Council to hike up its production by 33pc.

It is now widely feared pushing up production by 50,000 tonnes a year may be a first move by the firm to eventually handle the whole country's rubbish.

Campaigners are already up in arms over new measures announced by Environment Minister Dick Roche to speed up large-scale construction projects, including incinerators and roads.

Meath County Council confirmed it had received an application from Indaver to increase its production. Indaver has requested permission to burn up to 200,000 tonnes of household and domestic rubbish every year at Carranstown, near Duleek in Meath.

The company had been granted permission to process 150,000 tonnes of waste under the terms of a licence granted to it by the Environmental Protection Agency last year.

Locals said they were furious to hear the waste firm was pushing ahead with expansion plans. If they lodge objections to the new plans, the matter could end up before An Bord Pleanala.

Duleek resident Pat O'Brien, a member of the No Incineration Alliance, said: "It's a bad day for us. We started off fighting a regional plant, which was bad enough, but now it looks like we're fighting a national plant, which will mean an increase in tonnage and traffic - not to mention a rise in emissions."