A decision to locate a "superdump" in Co Galway seems likely to be deferred until after the June local elections.
Three potential landfill sites are due to be disclosed today, with the new 100-acre site expected to take the county's waste over 40 years. Election candidates in the three selected areas are certain to come under pressure to ensure that the landfill site is not located in their area.
Since Christmas, Galway Corporation has had to transport domestic waste from the city to a site 40 miles away in Ballinasloe following a High Court order to close the former dump at Carrowbrowne.