Ireland could face landfill problems

Tough new EU environmental legislation set to be implemented in 2013 could see landfill costs escalate in Dublin.

Local authorities will be hit with extra charges for burying waste underground from this point and the lack of action on the proposed Poolbeg incinerator has left many fearing an expensive future for Ireland's capital city.

The Irish Waste Management Association told the Herald that it was unhappy with the government's attempts to limit the involvement of private companies in the waste sector.

If no decision is made on the facility in two years' time, Dublin will have to keep sending its annual 300,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste to landfill sites.

Currently, this costs the metropolis €12m (£10.5 million) each year, but this will rise sharply under the new EU rulings.

More money is being spent on developing ways to improve environmental health on a worldwide scale, as recent United Nations Environment Programme figures showed that global green investments grew by 32 per cent last year.

Posted by Lauren Steadman