State to face large EU fines if directive on landfill not enforced

IRELAND IS facing EU fines of millions of euro a day from next January if it fails to divert biodegradable waste from landfill, Cré – the Composting Association of Ireland – has said.

The number of tonnes of waste diverted from landfill must be increased from 65,000 in 2006 to 550,000 next year, if Ireland is to meet the terms of the EU directive on landfill.

According to the latest figures from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just 7.9 per cent of food and garden waste is currently being diverted to composting, when 25 per cent diversion was needed to meet the terms of the EU directive.

Despite this urgent need to stop green, compostable waste from being dumped in landfills, many composting facilities are operating at only 20 per cent of their capacity and are in danger of closure, Cré said.

Speaking at its conference in Dublin yesterday, the association’s chief executive Percy Foster said low landfill gate prices were resulting in biodegradable waste being dumped instead of composted.

“It is now cheaper for waste collection companies to dump food waste at landfill sites rather than composting facilities, where it can be processed into a sustainable valuable added product. As a result, many of our composting sites are working at just 20 per cent of their processing capacity and some are in danger of closing down.”

Unlike green bin recycling where the waste is sent abroad for recycling, compostable or brown bin waste can be processed in Ireland using facilities and infrastructure which was already in place, Mr Foster said.

“We are calling on the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to dramatically increase source separated collection of biodegradable materials and increase the landfill levy significantly in order to save jobs at our composting facilities, improve our ability to meet EU landfill diversion targets and, of course benefit the environment.”

Minister for the Environment John Gormley told the conference that it was his intention to increase the levy and that stakeholder consultation on new regulations to divert waste from landfill and develop the composting industry would begin next month.