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| Locals opposed the Duleek plant before it opened in 2011 (photo Sunday Times) |
[Sunday Times, 5/7/2020]
@colincoyle
Indaver’s
incinerator in Duleek, Co Meath, which was bitterly opposed by local
residents before it opened in 2011, has applied for permission to
increase the amount of waste it treats from 235,000 to 250,000 tonnes,
more than doubling the amount of hazardous waste from 10,000 tonnes to
25,000 tonnes.
In
documents submitted to An Bord Pleanala as part of the application,
Indaver said: “The amount of hazardous waste accepted has reached over
9,000 tonnes per annum and, in the absence of other suitable treatment
facilities currently in Ireland for these wastes, there is a need to
extend the capacity.”
It
said this increase in capacity would be in line with the EPA’s national
hazardous waste plan, which requires treatment for up to 50,000 tonnes
of hazardous waste in Ireland every year.
The overall increase in waste capacity would allow for the acceptance
of more liquid waste, it said.
Ged
Nash, a local Labour TD, said the plan to more than double the amount
of hazardous waste going into the incinerator was “extremely worrying”.
He said the proposal would be challenged by the local community.
“We
need a national rethink on policy relating to incineration if we are to
meet binding EU targets on recycling,” he said. “Figures published last
year by the European Commission showed that the proportion of household
waste generated since 2008 that was sent to incinerators like
Carranstown [in Duleek] shot up from 16% to 29%, with only a small
increase recorded for recycling.”
Alongside
its increase in capacity, Indaver said it would build an aqueous waste
tank farm to deal with liquid waste and a hydrogen generation unit. This
unit would use the steam that would otherwise be destroyed in the
plant’s air cooled condenser to generate hydrogen from water. The energy
generated could either be fed into the natural gas network or used to
power hydrogen-powered waste vehicles.
The
application also seeks extra storage of bottom ash and an increase in
the size of the plant’s warehouses, workshops, office buildings and
parking facilities. The Belgian-owned company claims these proposals are
in line with EU and national policies. It claims the increase in
hazardous waste capacity “fulfils the objectives of self-sufficiency and
proximity and reduces the reliance on export and associated
environmental benefit of avoiding the transport of hazardous waste over
longer distances through export to Europe”.
