Fingal Council looks to develop landfill

Fingal County Council is to apply to An Bord Pleanala for permission to develop a landfill on a 500-acre (210-hectare) site at Tooman/Nevitt in North Co. Dublin.

The council is hoping that the landfill will serve Dublin city and county for up to 30 years. The landfill would have a capacity for 9.4 million tonnes of waste. If the scheme happens, eight houses would have to be destroyed.
The Tooman site is close to the M1, about 11 km north of Swords. Under the Planning and Development Act, 2000, the council must publish an environmental impact statement as part of any application. A waste licence, to be granted by the Environmental Protection Agency, must also be granted.

There would be a minimum 250m buffer between the disposal area and closest residences. Fingal senior engineer Eamonn Walsh said that modern engineered landfills with proper screening, leachate and gas collection were a lot different from the traditional dump.

The plan has met opposition. Politicians, including Sean Ryan TD, urged An Bord Pleanala, to hold a public hearing. He warned that the dump would have an impact on local people.