Disposal Of Waste

Landfills represent the most common treatment accounting as they do for 63.5% of Ireland's municipal waste disposal. Waste can also be burned in incinerators with its energy recovered. Recycling and composting are seen as the most desirable method for certain types of our waste.

Below is a breakdown of the most popular methods of dealing with our waste.

Landfill

Disposing of waste in a landfill involves burying rubbish and this remains a common practice in most countries. Landfills were often established in abandoned or unused quarries or mining voids. They can create a number of adverse environmental impacts such as leachate, gas, wind-blown litter and the attraction of vermin. Gas is a common byproduct of landfills. It is harmful because it can kill surface vegetation, is a potent a greenhouse gas and it smells.

Part of the Government's policy on landfills is to move from a high number of poorly managed landfill facilities to a much smaller number, operated to the highest environmental standards. There were 87 local authority landfills in 1995, which decreased to 76 in 1998 and to 50 by the end of 2001. This downward trend has continued to 25 landfills as of July 2008.

The majority of landfills in Ireland are run by local authorities. The Department of the Environment , Heritage and Local Government plans to reduce the amount of landfill sites in the country to approximately 20 state-of-the-art sites. These landfills will be capable of energy recovery and will operate to the highest environmental standards.

Poolbeg - the site of the Dublin plant

This is the site for the Dublin thermal treatment plant. The current power station is currently owned by ESB and sits beside the now-decommissioned Pidgeon House generating station where electricity was first generated in 1903.

Copyright John Kennedy

Poolbeg - the site of the Dublin plant
Copyright John Kennedy

Poolbeg - the site of the Dublin plant

This is the site for the Dublin thermal treatment plant. The current power station is currently owned by ESB and sits beside the now-decommissioned Pidgeon House generating station where electricity was first generated in 1903.

Copyright John Kennedy

Enlarge image

Incineration/Thermal treatment

The Dublin City Council - through their Waste Management plan - aim by 2013 to be sending 25% of the cities waste to thermal treatment plants and sending 16% to landfills.

These installations often attract opposition because of health and safety fears. The Department's Race Against Waste campaign - in May 2004 - launched a series of factsheets aimed at providing better information on thermal treatment.