THE parliament has rejected a long awaited EU directive on waste disposal because its proposed measures to protect the environment did not go far enough.
The Council of Ministers had agreed a common position on the directive last October after years of deliberation, but parliament voted by a large majority to reject the proposals because they did not sufficiently restrict the siting and management of landfill sites.
Areas of low population density, including most of Ireland, would have been exempted from the restrictions, although one of many amendments originally tabled by parliament sought to have this derogation deleted.
The rejection was welcomed by Green Party MEP Ms Patricia McKenna, who said there was no evidence that the European Commission was willing to act on the amendments proposed by the environment committee. She said Ireland's "disastrous waste policy" would have been accommodated by the Commission's proposals, which would have facilitated projects like the proposed "superdump" at Kill, Co Kildare.
"This directive would allow urban areas to dump their waste problems on rural areas," she said. "It would also discourage positive initiatives to tackle the waste crisis through recycling and reduction programmes.