Donegal Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Sinn Féin calls on public to oppose incineration

Published: 24 April, 2006

Sinn Fein Cllr Thomas Pringle has today called on the people of Donegal to say no to incineration in the review of the county's waste management plan. The draft of the new county plan is due to be published in May and will be available for public submissions for eight weeks.

Cllr Pringle said:

"Since the Meenabol dump scheme was refused by an Bord Pleanala in recent weeks there have been a number of calls from councillors for the introduction of incineration into the county waste management plan. A number of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael councillors have called for incineration at council meetings on waste management and we are calling on the public to ensure that this option is not considered in the new plan.

"Incineration is not the solution to waste problems in the County as it brings its own problems with it such as dioxin emissions. Incinerators also produce large amounts of highly toxic waste that have to be land filled. Therefore, a hazardous waste landfill will be required as well to deal with this waste.

"Our current waste management plan relies heavily on recycling and composting but the role out of facilities has been painfully slow. However, with proper recycling and composting we can reduce the volume of waste that needs to be land filled and reduce the potential pollution risk from landfill.

"Only half of the households in the County have bin collection and we have to increase the rate of collection and provide comprehensive recycling facilities if we are to tackle the illegal dumping endemic in the countryside and deal properly with our waste.

"Incineration is certainly not the solution and I would call on the people of Donegal in the next coming weeks to use this opportunity to ensure that the new County development plan reflects this belief."