Dublin Council to push for Ringsend incinerator

Dublin City Council is to look for planning permission from An Bord Pleanala for the Ringsend incinerator by the end of June.

Elsam is the Danish company contracted to design, build and operate the incinerator. The firm has finished its environmental impact statement (EIS) which will be given to the planning board with the council’s planning application.
It is now unlikely that the incinerator will be built by 2010 although the council has applied to the EPA for a licence to run the incinerator instead of waiting for planning permission.
The planning application will give people the chance to see the specifications of the plant. It will be capable of processing 600,000 tonnes of waste every year.

Local residents will be concerned at the definite traffic numbers for the plant. There will be up to 144 vehicles going to and from the plant.
It is likely that there will be a public oral hearing which may not happen until February or March 2007.
The Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, criticised political opposition to the incineration. He said that opposition did not reflect public opposition to incineration. He added that politicians were “disregarding their duty” to give leadership on waste management.