Poolbeg incinerator project to start

Construction of the controversial 600,000 tonne incinerator in Poolbeg, Dublin is to begin tomorrow, amid renewed protests from the local community.

Local residents are to hold a protest against the facility at Seán Moore road, which leads to the plant, at 5.30pm tomorrow.

Labour city councillor Kevin Humphreys said the "costly, foolish" project continued to be opposed by all the local public representatives, including Minister for the Environment John Gormley.

"This project has not got the support of the elected city council or the Minister for the Environment yet this has been pushed through by unelected officials. If the Minister is serious about the reform of Local Government this is the obvious place to start."

There were still questions about whether the project fulfilled all conditions specified by An Bord Pleanála, and ultimately, whether it could ever be viable, Mr Humphreys said.

"Even at this late stage I am appealing to the Minister to instruct the City Manager to stop the building of the Incinerator as this will undermine the strategy of reducing, reusing and recycling of waste."

Despite having secured planning permission from An Bord Pleanála and a licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr Gormley has advised Dublin City Council and the developers Covanta not to go ahead with the project.

He said it was likely that he would introduce a cap on incineration which would limit the facility to burning just half its annual waste capacity.

Construction of the facility is beginning less than one month since Mr Gormley published his International Review of Waste Management Policy which suggested measures which would limit the amount of waste available for incineration.